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What is HFSS?

High in Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) is the classification for all food and non-alcoholic drink which is high in fat, salt, and/or sugar according to the Nutrient Profiling Model, managed by Public Health England.


Alcoholic drinks are not included in the ruling as they are governed under their own rules.  

Any advertisers wishing to feature food and/or non-alcoholic drinks in their creative copy must ensure that any products featured are HFSS compliant (unless they have received an exemption).

If an ad features, or makes reference to, an identifiable HFSS product, either alone or as one of a range of products shown, it will be treated as an HFSS product advertisement and will be subject to the HFSS restrictions.

Marketers should also note that the use of branding in an advert, even if the product itself doesn't feature, could have the effect of promoting a specific HFSS product.  The word branding is used in its widest possible sense and can include logos, marks, characters, colours or straplines that are directly associated with a particular product, range of products or company.

Incidental food and drink: The above includes HFSS food and non-alcoholic drinks which feature incidentally in creative copy, so even if it is not an advert for food or drink. All such copy will need to be reviewed. 

For more information on nutrient profiling, visit the Department of Health website.

 

The TfL advertising estate 

All the advertising estate managed by Transport for London (TfL) is covered by HFSS. This includes the London rail estate (Underground, Overground, DLR, Trams), London buses, London bus shelters*, London black cabs, and any roadside large formats sited on TfL land.


*JCDecaux UK has a number of local authority contracts such as Camden and The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which do not fall under TfL jurisdiction.
*Please note HFSS also applies to all panels located in Lewisham.

For more information on the TfL ad policy, click here

 

Important

  • It will be the advertiser’s responsibility to confirm whether a product featured in an advertisement is HFSS or non-HFSS.
  • It is the up to the advertiser to have the Nutrient Profiling Model completed, and this must be done for each product.
  • The onus is with the advertiser and not the Specialist/Agency and this means JCDecaux must have it in writing from the client themselves. If emails are forwarded on from a Specialist/Agency, they must be attachments and not copy/paste.
  • If there is any element of doubt, then there must be a submission of the copy and statement to TfL via the normal process.

 

Exemptions

To ensure that the policy does not have any unintended consequence, there is the opportunity for food and drink brands to request consideration for advertising particular products (which are otherwise scored as HFSS) if they can demonstrate, with appropriate evidence, that those products do not contribute to HFSS diets in children. Consideration will be based on the following four factors:

1) Is there a healthier version of the product available?
2) Is the product on the PHE’s sugar or calorie reduction list?
3) Is the product generally consumed by children?
4) Does the presentation of the product appeal to children?

A form for anyone seeking an exemption can be downloaded below. All applications and questions should be sent to: TfLHFSSQueries@tfl.gov.uk 

Manchester City Council

JCDecaux UK partners with Manchester City Council to provide digital advertising on 86 Community Information Panels (CIPs), delivering 172 digital screens in the city centre.

As per the contract terms, these screens cannot promote food or beverage products that are classed as 'less healthy' based on the Foods Standards Agency 'Nutrient Profiling Model'.

 

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