The U.K. government is calling on food manufacturers to respond to a consultation on the effects of applying its new nutrient profiling model (NPM) to food advertising and promotions rules. The intention is to update the current restrictions in the light of more recent dietary advice, and these could come into force next year. It is linked to the 10-year health plan for England, aimed at reducing child obesity.
Current food advertising restrictions are based on an NPM established in 2004-5. The revised NPM was drawn up in 2018. The main changes reflect more recent thinking about free sugars (sugars added to foods, plus those naturally present in syrups, honey and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, purees and pastes), and dietary fiber (carbohydrates that are not digested or absorbed in the small intestine, including components of plant cell walls, such as cellulose).
