Government should rethink plans to restrict unhealthy food – retailers

The Scottish Government must go back to the drawing board on its proposals to restrict the promotion of foods high in fat, sugar or salt, a group representing retailers has said.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said the proposals lack detail and it is unclear which products will be affected.

A consultation on the plans closed on Tuesday, proposing restrictions on multi-buys, unlimited refills and the selling of junk food at locations such as checkouts and front-of-store.

Designed to tackle childhood obesity, experts at Public Health Scotland and Food Standards Scotland have welcomed the plans.

However, the SRC said it cannot support all of the proposals and it warned they are “nowhere near” ready to go into regulation.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, the deputy head of the SRC, said: “Our industry has led the way on reformulating products to reduce salt, sugar, and fat, and pioneered traffic light labelling and clear calorie and nutritional information to help consumers make informed choices.

“The Scottish retail industry has been clear where there are evidence-based pragmatic proposals to tackle public health issues presented by Government then we’ll work with them to deliver them.

“Sadly, whilst some of the measures proposed in this consultation are sensible, the reality is there are far too many policies which are ill-defined and injurious to consumer choice and cost.

“It’s uncertain exactly which promotions the Government wants to ban, and whether that includes everything from end-of-range Easter eggs, end-of-life salads, or seasonal promotions.

“Sadly these proposals are nowhere near ready to go into regulation, and frankly many of them need to be taken back to the drawing board.”

Mr MacDonald-Russell referred to John Swinney’s pledge to prioritise economic growth, saying the First Minister should stand by his words.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our consultation on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict the promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt has closed and our thanks go to all those who contributed.

“Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision-making process, along with a range of other information and evidence, and an analysis report of consultation responses will be published in due course.”