The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021

Restriction on the placement of specified food – in store E+W

7.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a qualifying person must not place specified food inside a store—

(a) within two metres of a checkout facility, unless the specified food is placed in (but not at the end of) an aisle;

(b) within two metres of a designated queuing area, unless the specified food is placed in (but not at the end of) an aisle;

(c) in a display—

(i) at the end of (but not in) an aisle, where the aisle end is adjacent to a main customer route through the store, or

(ii) on a separate structure (such as an island bin, free-standing unit, side stack or clip strip) connected or adjacent to, or within 50cm of, such an aisle end;

(d) at any point within the prohibited distance of the midpoint of any public entrance to the store’s main shopping area;

(e) in a covered external area.

(2) This regulation does not apply to—

(a) stores with a relevant floor area of less than 185.8m²;

(b) stores which only or mainly sell food from a single category listed in Schedule 1.

(3) In this regulation—

(a) “checkout facility” means a facility intended to be used by consumers to make a purchase, including a self-checkout terminal and a counter at which a cash register is used (including the area behind such a counter);

(b) “covered external area” means a covered area, outside and connected to a store’s main shopping area, through which the public passes to enter the main shopping area (such as a foyer, lobby or vestibule);

(c) “designated queuing area” means an area set aside and marked for the purpose of providing a place for consumers to wait to make a purchase;

(d) “prohibited distance” means the smaller of 15m or the following—

where a is the store’s relevant floor area;

(e) “relevant floor area” means the internal floor area of so much of a store as consists of or is comprised in a building, excluding any part of the store which—

(i) is not used for displaying goods or for serving customers in connection with the sale of goods,

(ii) is used mainly for the preparation or sale of food intended for immediate consumption, whether on or off the premises (including, for example, a coffee shop or a canteen);

(iii) is a room used for consultation with customers in connection with any medical services (such as pharmacy or opticians’ services) offered in the store, or

(iv) is occupied by a business other than the business primarily responsible for managing and operating the store (“a concession”), but only where the concession operates its own payment facilities.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 7 in force at 1.10.2022, see reg. 1(1)