A report examining data on retail food purchased in Scotland between 2019 and 2022 has been published by Food Standards Scotland (FSS), proposing restrictions on promotions on so called ‘unhealthy’ foods.
The report found that inflationary pressures had resulted in Scotland’s total grocery spend increasing by 13.4% since 2019, rising to £10.5 billion in 2022, despite the fact that no more food was bought over the same time frame.
In addition, it found that shoppers are now buying around a fifth of their baskets on price promotion – such as multi-buys and price reductions – which it said could encourage purchase of food and drink high in salt, fat or sugar.
Alana McDonald, FSS senior public health nutrition advisor, said: “With our weekly spend on groceries continuing to rise – for the same volume of products – it can be easy to be drawn into purchasing more food and drink items on promotion to save money.
“But, the reality is, many items with price promotions are not the cheapest option. Often promotions are on branded products and are more expensive than retailer own brand products to begin with.
“From previous findings, we know that items with price promotions tend to be on products which are high in calories and/or fats, sugar or salt, with little or no nutritional value, so they aren’t improving our health; quite the reverse.”
“Rebalancing” Scotland’s food environment
FSS chief executive Geoff Ogle said: “We recognise that families now face a real dilemma. Households are under significant pressure so understandably families are making decisions, such as buying items on promotion, to try and make their budgets stretch further.
“But we know that promotions are skewed towards unhealthy options. What we need is action to rebalance our food environment to make healthier options more affordable, so families don’t have this dilemma of buying unhealthy food to match their budgets.
“Promotions and marketing of unhealthy foods are a major part of our food environment and now more than ever what surrounds us, shapes us.”
