Unhealthy meal deals face Wales ban next year

Supermarkets face a ban on displaying unhealthy snacks near tills or on their website homepages from March 2026.

Junk food will also have to be removed from shop entrances and the end of aisles if regulations from the Welsh government are approved by the Senedd next month.

Free refills of sugary drinks and buy-one-get-one free deals for food that is high in sugar, salt and fat will also end.

The restrictions are meant to stop impulse buys at key selling spots in businesses with 50 or more employees. Smaller shops and those specialising in one product – such as sweet shops and chocolatiers – will be exempt.

The rules were proposed in a consultation last year and mirror those introduced in England in 2022.

Details of the Food (Promotion and Presentation) Regulations, published by Welsh ministers on Tuesday (11 February), say specific foods must not be displayed within two metres of a checkout.

Junk food promotions will also have to be removed from entry pages, pages for other food categories and shopping basket pages on websites.

Businesses that fail to comply could be issued with a fine of £2,500.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said with nearly a quarter of children overweight or obese by the time they start school “we need to take action to help people make positive changes to their diets and lifestyles”.

“The retail environment in shops play a role in shaping the food and drink we buy,” he said.

Dr Julie Bishop, of the Public Health Wales agency, said: “We know that people want to make healthier choices and this is one step to helping them to do that but there is much more work to do.”

The Welsh Retail Consortium previously said it was “particularly concerned over possible plans to restrict price promotions and to restrict products in meal deals”.

“Promotions within categories allow retailers and brands to compete to attract customers, improving competition and keeping prices down,” it warned.