UK Government’s new placement legislation is a “good first step”: a rapid qualitative analysis of consumer, business, enforcement and health stakeholder perspectives
UK Government’s new placement legislation is a “good first step”: a rapid qualitative analysis of consumer, business, enforcement and health stakeholder perspectives
Background: the current food system in England promotes a population diet that is high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS). To address this, the UK government will implement legislation to restrict the promotion of HFSS products in prominent locations (e.g., store entrances, checkouts) in qualifying retailers from October 2022. This study investigated the perceived impact of the legislation for affected stakeholders.
Methods: a pre-implementation rapid qualitative evaluation of stakeholder interviews. 108 UK stakeholders participated in the study including 34 consumers, 24 manufacturers and retailers, 22 local authority enforcement officers, and 28 academic and charitable health representatives. A participatory conference was used to enable policy recommendations to be confirmed by stakeholders.
Results: stakeholders perceived the legislation to be a “good first step” towards improving population diet but recognised this needed to be considered amongst a range of long-term obesity policies. Areas of further support were identified and these are presented as six recommendations for government to support successful implementation of the legislation:1) provide a free central HFSS calculator, 2) refine legislation to enhance intent and clarity, 3) conduct a robust evaluation to assess intended and unintended outcomes, 4) provide greater support for smaller businesses, 5) provide ring-fenced resources to local authorities, and 6) create and communicate a long-term roadmap for food and health.
Conclusions: this legislation has potential to reduce impulse HFSS purchases and makes a solid start towards creating healthier retail outlets for consumers. Immediate government actions to create a freely accessible HFSS calculator, support smaller businesses and provide additional resources to local authorities would support successful implementation and enforcement. Independent evaluation of the implementation of the legislation will enable monitoring of potential unintended consequences identified in this study and support refinement of the legislation. A long-term roadmap is necessary to outline strategies to support equal access to healthier and sustainable food across the whole food-system within the next 20-30 years.
HFSS foods, Placement legislation, Qualitative Research, Retail food environment, Stakeholder views, food policy
Muir, Sarah
019137d3-2f8c-406c-ac6e-2c57ddd6ce32
Dhuria, Preeti
470c09bf-2b4d-4db6-9100-a6878b4d4d32
Roe, Emma
f7579e4e-3721-4046-a2d4-d6395f61c675
Lawrence, Wendy
e9babc0a-02c9-41df-a289-7b18f17bf7d8
Baird, Janis
f4bf2039-6118-436f-ab69-df8b4d17f824
Vogel, Christina
768f1dcd-2697-4aae-95cc-ee2f6d63dff5
Muir, Sarah
019137d3-2f8c-406c-ac6e-2c57ddd6ce32
Dhuria, Preeti
470c09bf-2b4d-4db6-9100-a6878b4d4d32
Roe, Emma
f7579e4e-3721-4046-a2d4-d6395f61c675
Lawrence, Wendy
e9babc0a-02c9-41df-a289-7b18f17bf7d8
Baird, Janis
f4bf2039-6118-436f-ab69-df8b4d17f824
Vogel, Christina
768f1dcd-2697-4aae-95cc-ee2f6d63dff5
Muir, Sarah, Dhuria, Preeti, Roe, Emma, Lawrence, Wendy, Baird, Janis and Vogel, Christina
(2023)
UK Government’s new placement legislation is a “good first step”: a rapid qualitative analysis of consumer, business, enforcement and health stakeholder perspectives.
BMC Medicine, 21 (1), [33].
(doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02726-9).
Abstract
Background: the current food system in England promotes a population diet that is high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS). To address this, the UK government will implement legislation to restrict the promotion of HFSS products in prominent locations (e.g., store entrances, checkouts) in qualifying retailers from October 2022. This study investigated the perceived impact of the legislation for affected stakeholders.
Methods: a pre-implementation rapid qualitative evaluation of stakeholder interviews. 108 UK stakeholders participated in the study including 34 consumers, 24 manufacturers and retailers, 22 local authority enforcement officers, and 28 academic and charitable health representatives. A participatory conference was used to enable policy recommendations to be confirmed by stakeholders.
Results: stakeholders perceived the legislation to be a “good first step” towards improving population diet but recognised this needed to be considered amongst a range of long-term obesity policies. Areas of further support were identified and these are presented as six recommendations for government to support successful implementation of the legislation:1) provide a free central HFSS calculator, 2) refine legislation to enhance intent and clarity, 3) conduct a robust evaluation to assess intended and unintended outcomes, 4) provide greater support for smaller businesses, 5) provide ring-fenced resources to local authorities, and 6) create and communicate a long-term roadmap for food and health.
Conclusions: this legislation has potential to reduce impulse HFSS purchases and makes a solid start towards creating healthier retail outlets for consumers. Immediate government actions to create a freely accessible HFSS calculator, support smaller businesses and provide additional resources to local authorities would support successful implementation and enforcement. Independent evaluation of the implementation of the legislation will enable monitoring of potential unintended consequences identified in this study and support refinement of the legislation. A long-term roadmap is necessary to outline strategies to support equal access to healthier and sustainable food across the whole food-system within the next 20-30 years.
Text
Muir_et_al._BMC_Medicine_Revised_Manuscript_03.01.2023
- Accepted Manuscript
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s12916-023-02726-9
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 5 January 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 January 2023
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Funding Information:
This research and the authors of this paper are supported by the following funding sources: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research Programme (grant funding, 17/44/46), NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Southampton. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the UK Department of Health and Social Care or the MRC.
Keywords:
HFSS foods, Placement legislation, Qualitative Research, Retail food environment, Stakeholder views, food policy
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Local EPrints ID: 474142
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/474142
ISSN: 1741-7015
PURE UUID: bcd215a2-6d40-41e2-8f13-d61f15fb0404
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Date deposited: 14 Feb 2023 17:40
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:05
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Author:
Sarah Muir
Author:
Preeti Dhuria
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