HFSS Less Healthy Food Checker

Check if a food or drink falls under UK Less Healthy Food advertising restrictions. Uses the official Nutrient Profiling Model.

Instantly check if a food or drink falls under UK Less Healthy Food advertising restrictions --- FULL DESCRIPTION: Check any food or drink against the UK's Less Healthy Food advertising rules in seconds, right from your browser. The Less Healthy Food (LHF) regulations restrict paid online advertising for certain food and drink products sold by businesses with 250+ employees. Working out whether your menu items are in scope means understanding two things: the 13 regulated food categories defined in the Schedule, and the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) scoring system. This extension does both checks for you. HOW IT WORKS Type in any food or drink item and the checker runs a two-part test: Test 1: Category Check Is the product in one of the 13 regulated food categories? These include soft drinks with added sugar, savoury snacks, breakfast cereals, confectionery, ice cream, cakes, sweet biscuits, morning goods, desserts, sweetened yoghurt, pizza, potato products, and ready meals. If it's not in one of these categories, it's not in scope, regardless of its nutritional content. Test 2: Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) If the product falls into a regulated category, the checker calculates its NPM score based on nutrients per 100g. The model balances negative nutrients (energy, saturated fat, sugar, sodium) against positive ones (fibre, protein, fruit/veg/nuts). Foods scoring 4 or above, and drinks scoring 1 or above, are classified as "less healthy." Both conditions must be met for a product to be in scope. RESULTS YOU CAN ACT ON Each result shows a clear verdict: - Likely in scope: Falls into a regulated category and scores as less healthy. Paid online advertising restrictions apply for businesses with 250+ employees. - Unlikely in scope: Either not in a regulated category, or doesn't score as less healthy. You can feature it in paid advertising. - Maybe in scope: The result depends on the specific variation. Some versions may be in scope, others won't. Every result includes a full breakdown showing exactly how the product scored, which category it falls into (if any), and the complete NPM calculation with A points, C points, and the final score. ADJUST WITH YOUR OWN DATA The initial result uses average nutritional data for the product. Since your specific recipe will differ, you can tap "Adjust Values" to enter your product's actual nutritional information per 100g and get a recalculated score that reflects your exact product. This is important because small differences in sugar, salt, or fibre content can shift a product from "less healthy" to "not less healthy" or vice versa. WHAT'S COVERED The 13 regulated food categories from the Schedule: 1. Soft drinks with added sugar (including sweetened milkshakes, energy drinks, sweetened coffees, bubble tea with added sugar) 2. Savoury snacks (crisps, pretzels, poppadums, salted popcorn, prawn crackers) 3. Breakfast cereals (ready-to-eat cereals, granola, muesli, porridge oats) 4. Confectionery (chocolates, sweets, candy, fudge, sweet popcorn) 5. Ice cream and frozen desserts (ice lollies, frozen yoghurt, gelato, sorbet) 6. Cakes (cupcakes, brownies, doughnuts, American-style muffins) 7. Sweet biscuits and bars (cookies, cereal bars, granola bars, flapjacks) 8. Morning goods (croissants, pains au chocolat, crumpets, pancakes, waffles, scones) 9. Desserts and puddings (pies, tarts, cheesecake, dairy desserts, crumbles, meringues) 10. Sweetened yoghurt (flavoured yoghurt, fruit yoghurt, fromage frais) 11. Pizza (all pizza with toppings, calzone) 12. Potato and sweet potato products (chips, fries, wedges, hash browns, potato waffles) 13. Ready meals and prepared foods (ready meals, menu items, breaded/battered products, sandwiches) WHO THIS IS FOR Built for hospitality businesses: restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, QSRs, and food brands navigating the UK's advertising regulations. Whether you're a marketing manager checking menu items before running ads, or an agency managing campaigns for hospitality clients, this gives you a quick reference without leaving your browser. IMPORTANT NOTES - This tool provides indicative results based on the UK's Nutrient Profiling Model and the Less Healthy Food category definitions from the Health (Promotion of Food for Children) (Advertising and Marketing) Regulations. - Results use average nutritional data. For a definitive assessment, enter your product's actual nutritional values. - Always verify against official sources for compliance decisions. - The regulations apply to paid online advertising by businesses with 250 or more employees. Built by Joli (joliapp.com), the influencer marketing platform for hospitality. For the full version with saved results and detailed guides, visit joliapp.com/hfss-less-healthy-food-checker