NPM Consultation

The UK NPM is a scoring system used to assess the nutritional composition of food and drink products. The score a product achieves on the NPM determines whether it is classed as 'high in fat salt and sugar' (HFSS). Products that are classed as HFSS have been subject to online advertising restrictions since 2017 but may also be covered by the ‘less healthy’ (LHF) online advertising ban if they fall within one of the Government’s 13 LHF product categories.  

The Government recently confirmed that it was replacing the old NPM (NPM 2004/5) with an updated model that it consulted on in 2018. This change is intended to bring Government policies back in line with the latest dietary advice.  

The new model - NPM 2018 - applies stricter thresholds, especially for free sugars and sodium, which means that a greater proportion of products will be classed as HFSS under the new model than the 2004/5 version 

The consultation proposes that NPM 2018 is applied to the LHF restrictions, which currently use NPM 2004/5. The effect of applying NPM 2018 will be to bring a number of products - including products high in 'free' sugars like desserts, yoghurts, breakfast cereals and cereal bars - that are not currently impacted by the ad restrictions into scope. Savoury snacks and some reformulated products could also be affected 

The Government is not proposing to change the 13 LHF product categories set out in the LHF regulations. However, because more products will reach the required score to be HFSS under NPM 2018, more products will be impacted by the restrictions. The Government has published an impact assessment which estimates that the net per annum cost to businesses of adopting the new NPM will be £165m. However, there is no assessment of the impact of adopting the new model on ad-funded media.  

The Government is proposing a 12-month implementation period before NPM 2018 takes effect. Depending on how quickly the Government responds to the consultation, that could mean that the proposed changes take effect at some point in mid-to-late 2027. Proposed changes would also apply to existing in-store and online promotions restrictions. 

The industry now has until 17th June to respond to the consultation on proposed changes. IAB UK will be responding on behalf of our members - please join our Policy Community if you would like to be involved and regularly updated on this process.  
 
For more on the LHF online ad ban, see our detailed guidance here.