Restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar, or salt: consultation analysis

11. Other comments

11.1. A number of respondents took the opportunity to provide comments that did not directly relate to any specific question posed. These are presented here.

11.2. Industry respondents made general observations about the approach including:

• A need to pause before considering further regulation on the food industry because of significant concerns around the impacts of covid, EU exit, and the current economic situation; (industry representative body)
• A need for a policy to reward and incentivise business rather than penalise; (manufacturer)
• A need for policies to be proportionate, noting that in previous high inflationary periods promotions were used as a coping strategy to manage the worst effects of inflation; (manufacturer)
• There is a need for the Scottish Government to engage with industry to ensure appropriate clarity in any guidance that is issued on restrictions.

11.3. One public sector respondent highlighted the need to communicate changes effectively to the public and felt that there should be wider adoption of the traffic light system to assist consumers to make healthy choices. A number of respondents highlighted the importance of simplicity in food labelling. One 'other' organisation respondent suggested there is a need to improve pre-packed labelling so there are no hidden items.

11.4. One 'other' organisation respondent made the following points in respect of how the restrictions may interact with existing rules relating to advertising HFSS products:

• The Advertising Code (which covers food and related health or nutrition claims) covers advertising in 'paid-for space', in marketing communications that appear on businesses' own online space (such as website and social media), and in promotional marketing that is not in 'paid ad space' (such as on product packaging and at the point of sale in-store).
• It would not be effective to attempt to reflect the Scottish Government restrictions on promotions of HFSS products into the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Advertising Code but work will be undertaken by the UK advertising regulator to ensure the protections provided by the code are unlikely to lead businesses to undertake promotions that would be prohibited by the restrictions.
• Given that the CAP code requires advertising to be lawful, any prohibited promotions identified by the UK advertising regulator will be referred to the relevant authorities.
• There may be a need for the UK advertising regulator to provide guidance to businesses to ensure they are aware of the new restrictions and how the regulator will deal with cases.