Morrisons has announced that it will not implement a ban on grocery multibuy offers which has been set out by the government. The supermarket chain, one of the big brands in the UK, has reportedly told a trade magazine it will not stop the controversial deals on HFSS food - meaning high in fat, salt or sugar.
The Prime Minister had given notice that the ban was to come in this year. However, last week the Department of Health and Social Care said it would be delayed until October 2023, with a ban on TV adverts for unhealthy products before 9pm put back until January 2024, reports The Grocer.
According to government officials, they plan to use the time to assess the effect of any ban on household finances. Other supermarkets, including Tesco and Sainsbury's, say they will proceed with the timeline regarding the ban which they had set in motion due to anticipated legislation.
But in a statement, a Morrisons spokesperson said: "The government will continue to permit multibuy deals in light of the cost of living crisis and our approach will reflect this."
They added: "We are committed to giving customers outstanding value and multi-buy deals are one of the ways we can do this. A significant number of our promotions are on healthy foods."
When it was announced that the ban had been delayed, Boris Johnson faced a wave of criticism. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver went to Downing Street with an 'Eton Mess pudding', demanding that the health of the nation could not withstand the deferment.
Mr Johnson said the Government was having to be “flexible” when it came to the delay, reports PA. Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Powys in Wales last week, he said: “We understand the vital importance of tackling obesity, it costs the NHS huge sums of money.
“Now, there are lots of things you’ve got to focus on, including diet, eating less, eating less is the most important thing, but there are some things at the moment where we think they make very little difference to obesity. They can affect people’s weekly outgoings, people’s budgets, and at this particular time, if people can save on their food bills with some offers, then I think we’ve just got to be flexible while continuing to tackle obesity.”
Tesco said it will remove multi-buy promotions food which are high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS products) by the end of October, while Sainsbury’s said it has already axed multi-buy offers after changing its promotion strategy six years ago.
