Food (Promotion and Placement) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: implementation guidance

Annex A: Additional resources and support

One way of reducing the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) score of products which are in scope of the restrictions would be to reformulate them. Small or medium size food business in Scotland may be eligible for support from The Reformulation for Health programme.

The programme has helped remove millions of calories, tonnes of salt, and sugar, from commonly consumed products. Further products have also been enriched with fibre; all helping consumers meet nutrient goals without relying on behavioural changes.

Businesses which also operate in England may wish to refer to UK Government’s guidance on its equivalent regulations:

Restricting promotions of products high in fat, sugar or salt by location and by volume price: implementation guidance - GOV.UK

Businesses which also operate in Wales may wish to refer to the Welsh Government’s guidance on its equivalent regulations:

Restricting the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar foods: implementation guidance

The descriptions and examples within this guidance have been aligned wherever possible with UK Government and Welsh Government’s guidance to support businesses operating across the three countries.

This guidance will be subject to periodic review following implementation, with updates made as necessary.

Common queries

This section provides answers to some common queries. If you have a question that you cannot find the answer to within this guidance, please email DietPolicy@gov.scot. We will periodically update this section of the guidance to reflect any new queries we receive.

How to determine what constitutes prepacked food

The regulations apply to ‘prepacked food’, as defined in Article 2(2)(e) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011:

‘prepacked food’ means any single item for presentation as such to the final consumer and to mass caterers, consisting of a food and the packaging into which it was put before being offered for sale, whether such packaging encloses the food completely or only partially, but in any event in such a way that the contents cannot be altered without opening or changing the packaging; ‘prepacked food’ does not cover foods packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale.

Where to find support to understand if a product is in scope of the regulations

Information to assist businesses in understanding if a product is in scope can be found under the ‘ What food is in scope ’ section of this guidance. If you require any further support or information, you should contact your local authority.

How to calculate the relevant floor area within a store

Businesses should calculate their relevant floor area in order to understand whether their stores are in scope of the in-store location restrictions. The relevant floor area of a store excludes some areas within a store not used for displaying or serving customers in connection with the sale of goods, such as storage areas or areas occupied by reverse vending machines. Further information on how to calculate the relevant floor area of a store can be found in regulation 7(3)(f) of the regulations and in the ‘ Location promotions ’ section of this guidance.

How to calculate the restricted area at the entrance of a store

Please refer to regulation 7, or the ‘Location promotions’ section of this guidance for information on how to calculate the restricted area at the front of your store

How to determine the difference between an aisle and other types of units

The formation in which display units are presented (i.e. whether they form an aisle with an aisle end) may impact how the regulations apply to them. Further information on aisles can be found in the ‘ Location promotions ’ section of this guidance under ‘Determining what may form an aisle.’ Within the ‘ Location promotions ’ section of the guidance, you will also find some examples of how the regulations may apply to freezer units in different formations, with graphic illustrations. If in doubt about whether restrictions will apply to freezer units within your store, you should contact your Local Authority for further guidance.

How the regulations apply to online only businesses

The regulations may apply to online only businesses. You can find further information in the ‘ Businesses in scope of restrictions ’ section of this guidance or in regulation 4.

Differences between promotion and placement regulations in Scotland and equivalent restrictions in England and Wales.

Promotion and location restrictions in Scotland regulations generally align with equivalent regulation in England and Wales. There are, however, some differences which businesses will wish to note. For example, in relation to on-pack promotions, aisle end restrictions, food halls and enforcement:

On-pack promotions

In Scotland, from 1 October 2026, any volume price promotions on packaging must be clearly stated as not applicable/ not available. Qualifying businesses who choose to sell products with volume price promotional offers on their packaging should ensure that they clearly communicate to consumers that the product is not offered for sale as part of that promotion, i.e. the promotion is not valid. Further detail is provided in the on ‘ On-pack promotions ’ section of this guidance.

Aisle end restrictions

In Scotland and Wales, aisle end restrictions apply to all aisle ends, regardless of their proximity to main customer routes i.e. one of the main routes a customer is expected to take when moving around the store. Further detail is provided at 7(1)(c) of the regulations and in the guidance section on ‘ Aisle ends ’.

Restrictions in England prohibit placing specified foods at aisle ends that are adjacent to a main customer route, or on structures connected to or within 50cm of those aisle ends.

Food halls

Scottish regulations make specific provision for ‘food halls’ to ensure that the prohibited distance from a public entrance (within which specified food cannot be placed) is based on the area occupied by the food hall rather than the wider store. See regulation 7 and under food halls in the ‘ Store entrances ’ section of this guidance for further details.

Enforcement

Enforcement in Scotland is broadly comparable to that in England and Wales. In Scotland, local authorities are responsible for enforcing the policy using powers under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food (Scotland) Act 2015 (see regulations 9, 10, 11 and 12). Guidance is provided in the ‘ Enforcement ’ section of this document.

Calculating the NPM score of products where the information of the product’s packaging is only listed as consumed, rather than as sold.

Regulations apply the 2004/05 NPM in line with equivalent policies in England and Wales.

Please refer to Annex C: The 2004 to 2005 nutrient profiling model of this guidance for information on calculating NPM scores for different products. You can also find further information in the NPM technical guidance 2011.

How the regulations impact free refills on sugar-free drinks

A qualifying business for the purposes of the free refill restrictions may continue to offer free refills on drinks which do not meet the criteria specified at regulation 6(1) of the regulations. Drinks which are not prepared soft drinks containing added sugar ingredients, as described in the schedule to the regulations, will not meet those criteria.

Please see regulation 6 or the section of this guidance entitled ‘ Free refills ’ for further information on how free refill restrictions apply.

How the food categories these regulations apply to differ from those set out in the UK Government’s broadcast and online advertising regulations

Generally, the overarching product categories in these regulations are intended to align with those in categories 1-12 of the UK Government’s broadcast and online advertising regulations. There are however some differences evident in the products in category 13.

You can find further information on the interaction between both sets of regulations under the section of this guidance entitled ‘ Broadcast and online advertising restrictions ’.

How the promotion and placement restrictions set out within the regulations apply to out of home businesses

Regulations do not apply to out of home businesses e.g. restaurants (though “free refill” offers are restricted in these settings).

Further information on the type of businesses in scope of the restrictions can be found at regulation 4 and the section on ‘ Businesses in scope of restrictions ’ of this guidance.

How the regulations apply to meal deals and TPRs

Meal deals and temporary price reduction (TPR) promotions are not restricted by these regulations. You can find more information on which promotional offers are in scope of the regulations under the ‘ Volume price promotions ’ section of this guidance and in regulation 5.