At a time when household budgets are being tightly squeezed, interest rates are at record highs and food inflation is at over 19%, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has postponed the planned ban on multi-buy promotions on products high in fat, sugar, salt or sugar (“HFSS”) for another two years. He argued the policy would “not be fair” on shoppers amid a cost-of-living crisis.   

The buy-one-get-one-free ban, which forms part of the government’s wider anti-obesity strategy, has already been delayed from its original implementation date of January 2022 to October 2023, and has now been pushed back until October 2025. 

Sunak commented on the delay by stating “It is right that we consider carefully the impact on consumers and businesses, while ensuring we’re striking the balance with our important mission to reduce obesity and help people live healthier lives.”  

This delay follows the government’s decision to delay other HFSS restrictions such as the 9 pm watershed ban on the advertising of HFSS products on television, which will now come into play in 2025. 

Whether or not the delay in the ban will dampen the already weighty strain on household budgets stemming from rising food prices is up for debate. Critics of the delay include Hattie Burt, a Senior Policy and International Projects Officer at Action on Salt, who stated that “The government’s own data shows that multi-buy promotions on unhealthy food cause people to spend 20% more than they intended. This marketing technique is applied to higher sugar products more than any other foods resulting in consumers buying 6% more sugar than they otherwise would have done.” However, when the cost of a Chicken Big Mac meal deal is at £4.49 and a 600g pallet of Tesco Strawberries is at £5, one could argue the opposite. 

Taking it to our readers, what do you think? Do you think the delay of the ban will have a positive, negative or no impact for householders?