Northern Ireland has launched a consultation on introducing restrictions on promotions for food and drink high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), bringing the region into line with similar measures already in force in England and Wales and due to take effect in Scotland from October.
The consultation, jointly launched by the Department of Health (DoH) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA), proposes restrictions on multibuy promotions, prominent in-store and online placement of HFSS products, and free refills of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in an effort to tackle rising obesity levels.
The move comes as around 65 per cent of adults in Northern Ireland are living with overweight or obesity, with obesity increasing the risk of conditions including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Among the proposals are banning volume price promotions such as “3 for 2”, “buy one get one free” and similar multibuy offers on HFSS products; preventing such products from being displayed in high-profile locations including store entrances, aisle ends and checkouts, as well as equivalent online locations such as homepages, landing pages, basket pages and checkout screens; and prohibiting free refill promotions for sugar-sweetened soft drinks classified as HFSS.
Health minister Mike Nesbitt said evidence shows that multibuy offers and prominent positioning of unhealthy products significantly increase purchases of foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt.
“While we all have a responsibility to look after our own health, these proposed measures aim to create conditions that support individuals in making healthier choices,” he said.
Professor Susan Jebb, chair of the FSA, said it was important to hear from retailers, manufacturers, out-of-home businesses and consumers to ensure the proposals were effective while reflecting experience from elsewhere in the UK.
“We want to do this in a way that is most effective, so it is vital that we hear from a broad range of voices on these proposals to restrict promotions of products high in fat, salt and sugar and that we learn from experiences in other countries,” she said.
The consultation also sets out which businesses would fall within the scope of the regulations.
Volume price restrictions would apply to retail businesses employing 50 or more people, while location restrictions would apply only to businesses with 50 or more employees operating stores with a relevant sales area of at least 2,000 sq ft. The proposals would also cover non-food retailers selling food and drink, including DIY stores, pharmacies, clothing retailers and garden centres.
Franchise and symbol group retailers would be assessed based on the total number of employees across the wider franchise or symbol group, meaning some independently owned stores could still be covered.
The consultation proposes several exemptions. Retailers with fewer than 50 employees would be excluded, while stores smaller than 2,000 sq ft would be exempt from location restrictions regardless of staff numbers.
Care homes, schools and food provided by charities would also be exempt. Specialist retailers, such as chocolatiers and confectioners, would be exempt from placement restrictions but would still have to comply with volume promotion rules.
Restaurants, cafés and other out-of-home businesses would remain exempt from volume and placement restrictions but, if employing 50 or more people, would be prohibited from offering free refills of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
The proposals would mirror product categories already covered by regulations elsewhere in the UK, including chocolate and sugar confectionery, cakes, biscuits, breakfast cereals, crisps, ice cream, pizzas, ready meals, yoghurts, sugary soft drinks and milk-based drinks with added sugar.
The restrictions would apply only to prepacked products, with non-prepacked foods remaining outside scope except for soft drink refill rules.
The consultation also asks whether Northern Ireland should continue using the existing 2004/05 UK Nutrient Profiling Model to classify HFSS products, adopt the updated 2018 model, or retain the current model before reviewing it at a later date.
Responses to the consultation are open until 21 October 2026.