10. Annexe 1: The UK Nutrient Profiling Model
10.1 HFSS are food and non-alcoholic drink products that are high in fat, salt or sugar, which have been defined using the UK Department of Health nutrient profiling model (NPM). The UK NPM utilises a scoring system for 7 nutrient/food components based on per 100g as sold. Points are allocated based on 4 ‘negative’ nutrients/food components (i.e. energy; total sugars; saturated fats and sodium) and 3 ‘beneficial’ nutrients/food components (i.e. fruit, vegetables and nuts; fibre and protein). Protein is used as a marker of iron, calcium and n-3 fatty acids.
10.2 The NPM was first developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in 2004-2005 as a tool to help Ofcom differentiate foods and improve the balance of television advertising to children. Ofcom introduced controls which restricted the advertising of HFSS foods in order to encourage the promotion of healthier alternatives.
10.3 The UK NPM was adopted by the Committee of Advertising Practice to identify HFSS foods and drinks so that advertising for such products could be subject to restrictions in children’s non broadcast media (including print, cinema, online and in social media). These restrictions came into force in 2017. The effective usability of the model continues to be dependent on the use of accurate and reliable compositional data and nutrition labelling data.
10.4 When tested, few discretionary foods pass the current NPM (0% chocolate confectionery, 4% of sugar confectionery, 4% of crisps/savoury snacks/popcorn, 1% of sweet biscuits, 37% of desserts). In contrast, more products pass the NPM in categories such as meat (49%), potato products (96%), ready meals (82%), yogurt and fromage frais (82%).
10.5 There are hundreds of discretionary foods available on the market, with new and reformulated products continually being developed. Although the vast majority of foods within the discretionary categories would not pass the current NPM, there may be a few outliers which will.
10.6 Since its introduction in 2007, Public Health England was asked by the Department of Health and Social Care to review the UK NPM to bring it in line with updated UK dietary recommendations. A consultation in 2018 lead to the development of a revised model, which has not been formally adopted. The updated criteria would result in fewer discretionary products passing.