Supermarket Sainsbury's has told customers that they will see changes in its stores over the coming weeks. It is in relation to new rules from the Government that come into force soon.
In 2019, the Government consulted on the idea of restricting the promotion of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt. It looked at the use of multibuy offers, plus the location of such products, both in store and online.
The result was new legislation that restricts how these types of products can be promoted. The law change comes into force from October 1, 2022.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: "Evidence shows that food retail price promotions are widespread and effective at influencing food preferences and purchases (particularly for children). Previous reports recommended that reducing and rebalancing promotions towards healthier food and drink is essential to help reduce children’s sugar and calorie intakes, and help tackle obesity.
"Furthermore, the shopping environment plays an important part in the way products are marketed to us, with simple factors such as the location of products within stores significantly affecting what we buy."
The new rules apply to all medium and large businesses with 50 employees or more, meaning all supermarkets and many shops will have to comply. Failure to do so could result in a business being fined if it does not make changes after a warning.
In an email to customers, Sainsbury's said: "Ahead of the government introducing new rules for products containing high fat, sugar and salt we'll be shuffling things around on our shelves over the next few weeks. This means you may find some products aren't where they used to be."
