Yoghurt, fruit juice and breakfast cereals to be labelled junk food under sweeping new restrictions

Hundreds of products once considered heathy are set to be rebadged as health officials prepare to unveil a sweeping package of restrictions on supermarkets.

While products like ice cream and crisps have long been considered obviously bad for consumers, experts have been raising awareness around other foods that are just as bad but are marketed as healthy.

Described as ultra-processed foods (UPFS), these tend to include additives and ingredients in the small print that are not used when people cook from scratch, such as preservatives, emulsifiers and artificial colours and flavours.

Fruit juices, some cereals, flavoured yoghurts, white bread, and other staples all fall into that category.

They also often contain high levels of saturated fat, salt, sugar and additives, which experts say leaves less room in people’s diets for more nutritious foods.

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Ministers are expected to class these products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFFS) putting in the same category as chocolate and oven pizza, when they publish an update to the UK’s nutrition classification system in the coming weeks.

They will also likely ban supermarkets from putting these items at the front of their stores and or near checkouts, according to the Telegraph.

Supermarkets will also be barred from putting “buy-one-get-one-free” deals on these products.

Meanwhile, adverts for the products will reportedly be banned after 9pm.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson first announced the 9pm HFFS’ TV ban in 2021.

But it was later pushed back to 2025 after the Conservative government said it wanted to give the food and drink industry time to prepare for the measure amid the cost of living crisis.

However, ministers have been warned the new restrictions will still force supermarkets to spend millions on refitting stores – despite having been given years longer to prepare – while some critics maintain that it could drive up the cost of living.

But it comes after the industry lobbied the government for years against the restrictions.

Studies have suggested that thousands of people are dying in the UK every year due to ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

However, some experts say it is not clear why UPFs are linked to poor health and question whether this is because of processing or because people are opting for foods high in fat, sugar and salt rather than more nutritious options.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions.

“We are taking action to ensure we have the healthiest generation of children ever – and this includes restricting the advertising of junk foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt.”