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Just when you thought the new rules on advertising less healthy foods (LHF) were now in force and set in stone...they aren't. The rules may already be subject to change as the UK government plans to update the underlying nutrient profiling model.
The UK nutrient profiling model (NPM) assesses the healthiness of food and drink products by balancing the contribution made by beneficial nutrients alongside the negative contributions from nutrients where intakes are higher than recommended, to provide an overall profiling score.
Ofcom (and the ASA) currently use NPM 2004/2005 to enforce rules that restrict advertising of high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) products to children, through the:
- Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice's rules for TV advertising (since 2007)
- Committee on Advertising Practice's non-broadcast rules for advertising (since 2017).
NPM 2004/2005 also underpins the:
- Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024
- Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021.
However, UK dietary recommendations have been updated since 2005, and NPM 2004/2005 is perceived to be outdated. Following a 2018 consultation, the Department of Health and Social Care accepted expert recommendations to adopt an updated model, leading to NPM 2018. The government has recently published the consultation outcome.
The government has indicated there will be a further consultation later this year on applying NPM 2018 to the advertising and promotion restrictions.
The adoption of an updated model will affect which food and drink items are categorised as HFSS and/or LHF and caught by the advertising and promotion restrictions. This would clearly be unhelpful for manufacturers and advertisers who may have already reformulated products or planned campaigns based on NPM 2004/2005. These recent efforts may need to be repeated to maintain eligibility for advertising outside the LHF/HFSS restrictions. The consultation expected later this year will be key in deciding if, when and how the NPM is applied to the LHF/HFSS restrictions.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
