ArticleBMC medicine2024
"If government is saying the regulations are important, they should be putting in funding to back it up."- An in-depth analysis of local authority officers' perspectives of the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021.
Article in BMC medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of supermarket fruit and vegetable placement on store sales, customer purchasing, diet and household waste: A prospective matched-controlled cluster trial.PLoS medicine · 2026Trial
- Implementation of a UK supermarket intervention to increase purchasing of fresh fruit and vegetables: process evaluation of the WRAPPED natural experiment.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- 'We all need to be on the same page': sustainment of healthy food retail practices in Australian public settings.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Women intend to buy, and attend more to, healthy foods in supermarkets: attention to product placement observed in women in a 2-dimensional simulated supermarket environment.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Local government policies restricting unhealthy outdoor food advertising in Australia: stakeholder perspectives identify political willingness is key to overcoming barriers.Health research policy and systems · 2026Article
- Benchmarking for continuous improvement in food retail environments: a systematic scoping review.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Slushies before school: exploring how nearby food outlets impact the eating behaviours of secondary students in Perth, Western Australia.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Characterizing the food environment in Scotland and its association with deprivation: A national study.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- The UK Food Environment: A Systematic Review of Domains, Methodologies, and Outcomes.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs part of the UK government's obesity strategy, the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 were implemented in October 2022 to restrict the prominent placement of products high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) in most retail settings. Local authority (LA) officers have been tasked with enforcement of these regulations. This qualitative study examined the perspectives of LA officers including, trading standards, environmental health, and public health officers to understand enforcement approaches and requirements to optimise business compliance with the regulations.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted via MS Teams with a purposive sample of LA officers across England. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
resultsThe 22 participants comprised 13 officers from Trading Standards, six from Environmental Health, and three from Public Health teams. The key messages include the following: (i) the regulations are complex and do not align with existing enforcement approaches, (ii) officers' professional background will result in variable enforcement practices, and (iii) compliance assessment is an arduous task. LAs are facing resource and workforce constraints and have to prioritise regulations addressing high health risks (e.g., allergens). Therefore, officers will mostly apply a light touch approach to enforcement, raising awareness and engaging with businesses rather than issuing notices. To develop a consistent enforcement approach across LAs, officers asked for (i) further leadership from central government in the form of funding, training, and tools to determine in-scope businesses and products, (ii) cross-departmental collaboration to raise the regulations' priority at local and regional levels, and (iii) greater consumer demand for healthier retail environments.
conclusionIt is crucial to address both structural challenges such as resource allocation, workforce, and prioritisation issues as well as the inherent complexity of the regulations to strengthen enforcement efforts. Our findings highlight the necessity of supporting enforcement activities at national and regional government levels to avoid potential false conclusions about ineffectiveness of regulations.
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