Scottish retailers must ensure their policies and procedures comply with new restrictions on the promotion and placement of less healthy food and drink products, Zoe Betts, partner and regulatory law specialist on food safety and product safety at Pinsent Masons, has said.
The Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 October, according to Pinsent Masons. The firm said the regulations are designed to encourage healthier consumer choices by limiting where and how certain prepacked foods and drinks high in fat, sugar or salt can be displayed and promoted in stores.
Pinsent Masons said the new rules mirror restrictions already in place in England, where placement restrictions have applied since October 2022 and restrictions on price or multi-buy promotions came into force on 1 October 2025. Similar provisions are in place in Wales, the firm said, while a consultation on the issue is under way in Northern Ireland.
According to Pinsent Masons, the restrictions will affect categories including confectionery, cakes, crisps and soft drinks with added sugar, though they apply only to pre-packed products. The firm said qualifying businesses include retail and wholesale outlets with sales to the public, as well as other outlets such as clothes shops that sell targeted food.
Pinsent Masons said high-fat, sugar or salt products are banned from high-visibility areas such as shop entrances, checkout areas, queuing zones and aisle ends, with dedicated specialist shops such as chocolatiers or fudge shops exempt from the location restrictions. The firm said multi-buy offers and free drink refills are prohibited on in-scope items.
Betts said retailers should not assume that compliance with existing restrictions elsewhere in the UK means they have nothing further to do in Scotland, and that businesses need to understand which products fall within scope and review how they are promoted and displayed.
Pinsent Masons said whether a product is considered “less healthy” is determined using the Nutrient Profiling Model 2004/2005, and noted that the UK government has consulted on applying a revised model to advertising and promotion restrictions, with industry awaiting its response. The firm said any change to the model used in promotion restrictions would apply in England only, unless devolved nations followed suit.
Pinsent Masons said businesses generally favour regulatory consistency across the UK, and that differing approaches to assessing products could increase complexity for retailers operating across multiple jurisdictions. The firm said the Scottish regulations form part of broader efforts across the UK to tackle obesity and improve public health outcomes.