The high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) legislation, due to be implemented from 1 October 2022, seeks to curb Britain’s obesity crisis with more than one in three children aged 10 to 11 currently overweight.
Products high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) will be removed from prime locations in stores and volume promotions such as buy-one, get-one-free will be banned. Restrictions on digital marketing and advertising will also come into effect from 1 January 2023.
New research amongst businesses by GS1 UK has found that almost half feel unprepared for its upcoming implementation, with 70% unaware that volume promotions will be banned. Alarmingly, 20% of businesses are unaware of the new legislation altogether. Just one in three have assessed their products ahead of the October deadline, with only 48% reformulating existing products and around one quarter having not even considered it.
Anne Godfrey, chief executive of GS1 UK, said: “The HFSS legislation represents a seismic shift for businesses across the UK and many of our 57,000 members will be affected. Whilst our research reveals that businesses and consumers are aligned on the benefits the changes can bring, the findings show there is much more to be done if the sentiment of the legislation is to become a reality.
“Many businesses feel overwhelmed with the challenges they have faced over the last two years, but there is no doubt that the industry, now more than ever, needs to take a standardised approach for the collection of quality data if they are to adapt quickly and confidently to new legislation and growing consumer demand.”
It also emerged that just 33% are training staff on the new rules and only 35% are auditing suppliers, showing that there is a lot of work to be done for the whole of the sector to be ready. Two-thirds of businesses say that more financial support from the government is needed to help them adapt – with 81% saying the new rules will significantly change how they operate.