Manufacturers have warned against a ban on junk food promotions in Scotland, claiming it could hit “iconic Scottish brands”.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland opposes any move to restrict promotions on sales of food high in salt, sugar and fat such as by one get one free offers, currently under consideration by the Scottish Government.
The government is consulting on a new diet and obesity strategy which indicates ministers are “minded to act to restrict price promotion on food and drink products which are high in fat, salt and sugar”.
FDF Scotland chief executive officer David Thomson said: “We oppose restrictions on the use of promotions.
“Regulation of promotions could unfairly disadvantage different types of food and drink companies, and their products. There is real concern amongst our members regarding these proposals.
“The measures have been created without compelling evidence of their effectiveness.
“They will affect Scottish businesses disproportionally.
“Iconic Scottish brands – whose main market is in Scotland – stand to suffer more than their international competitors, with some reporting that up to 60% of their sales would be affected by this legislation.”
He also claimed banning promotions would hit poorest shoppers hardest and warned against introducing a different food and drink labelling requirements in Scotland.
Here is @FDFScotland response to @scotgov consultation on obesity https://t.co/MS1oy9TPTQ . Lots to be done on obesity, but real concern from businesses about impact of proposed legislation
— David Thomson (@David_FDFScot) January 31, 2018
In its response to the Scottish Government consultation, which closes on Tuesday, FDF Scotland also opposed moves for a ban on radio and TV adverts for unhealthy foods before the 9pm watershed.
Members believe it would have an “unequal” effect on companies, adversely affecting those whose target demographic views daytime TV as other demographics view TV on demand.
Meanwhile, in its consultation response, Scottish Slimmers has called for improved education on food and nutrition to tackle obesity.
The group said it had no objection on the ban on junk food promotions but called for cut-price deals on health food to be considered.
Alexandra Howie, service delivery director at Scottish Slimmers, said: “What’s needed now more than ever is better provision across Scotland of non-judgemental support and advice to help people improve what they eat and how they exercise.
“We believe that better food and nutrition education, which does not demonise certain foods nor pass judgements on the choices people make, will lead to wide-reaching benefits for families across Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel