Ministers are facing a new row with consumers and industry groups after unveiling plans to crackdown on supermarket 'meal deals', multi-buys and promotions in a bid to encourage healthier eating habits among Scots.

Proposals also include restricting unlimited refills and selling at locations such as at checkouts and front of store.

Jenni Minto, the public health minister, this morning announced the 12 week consultation to curb retailers' promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar and salt.

She said the proposals were aimed at reducing obesity and cutting rates of diseases related to poor eating habits such as heart disease and certain cancers.

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However, industry organisations have already hit back warning selling food will become "more costly" for everyone.

But Ms Minto said action was needed to improve health and support people to eat well and that public health is a government priority.

"We need to address the high levels of excess weight, obesity and poor diet we know are contributing to worsening trends in Scotland’s health," she said.

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"The association between these issues and health outcomes such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers has been established for some time. 

“We want to ensure Scotland is a place where we eat well and have a healthy weight. The Scottish Government is committed to restricting promotions of foods high in fat, sugar or salt at the point of purchase as research shows this is when people make decisions about what and how much to buy, for themselves and their families.

“This consultation, together with our Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan, demonstrates the ambitious and wide-ranging action we believe is needed to address this challenge, and support improvements in diet and health and wellbeing  in Scotland.

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“The consultation will run in parallel with an extensive programme of inclusive stakeholder engagement, to improve the process of developing, implementing and reviewing regulations to meet our long-term public health and economic aims.”

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the Scottish Retail Consortium said: “Scottish Ministers appear determined to put up prices on a range of products despite consumers reeling from a cost-of-living crisis.

"These proposals will prevent retailers competing on price on any of the products caught by these rules, meaning shoppers miss out both on the benefits of competition but also from any falls in inflation. 

"The restrictions on placing these products in-store will make life harder for Scottish producers who will now have to compete with international brands with much greater consumer recognition.

“Despite endless engagement Scottish Ministers have ignored business voices on this issue. These disproportionate restrictions follow a bumper hike in business rate bills for medium sized and larger shops, as well as a mooted new surtax on food and drink retailers. All this will hinder rather than help retailers’ ability to keep down prices for Scotland’s shoppers during a cost-of-living crisis, the last thing Scotland’s hard pressed consumers need."

David Thomson, Food and Drink Federation Scotland’s Chief Executive Officer, said: "Today’s consultation from the Scottish Government creates a different set of trading regulations for businesses selling into the Scottish stores compared to that in other parts of the UK.

"These proposals will disproportionately impact small Scottish food and drink producers and will make selling food in Scotland more complex and costly for everyone.

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"FDF will work hard to shape these regulations through the consultation to ensure they take into account the impact on our businesses. At the same time our Reformulation for Health programme will be there to continue to support Scotland’s food and drink businesses to make their products healthier.” 

Dr Pete Cheema, chief executive of the Scottish Grocers' Federation, said: “ Many of our members are facing a range of higher costs, including increased energy prices and inflation, alongside a rising tide of new regulation.

“Placing an additional burden on struggling stores at this time will mean that customers inevitably must pay more for their shopping, and businesses are less viable overall."

The row between industry and the government over plans to bring in restrictions on supermarket food promotions has echoes of previous battles between ministers and the sector.

Last year, the government paused plans to bring in a nationwide recycling scheme following opposition from retailers and drinks' producers, and after the UK Government refused to allow the Scottish scheme to include glass.

And just after becoming First Minister Mr Yousaf announced a pause on plans to ban alcohol advertising amid concerns from industry.

The Scottish Government had opened a consultation on the alcohol advertising ban in November 2022. It proposed to ban advertising on TV, billboards and through sports.

But it faced significant opposition from the drinks' industry, who warned the move would damage Scotland’s economy without addressing excessive alcohol consumption.

Public Health Scotland and Food Standards Scotland welcomed the Scottish Government’s consultation on the proposed regulations to restrict the promotion of foods high in fat, sugar, or salt.

In a statement the organisations said improving population health by ensuring everyone has access to affordable, healthy food has "never been more important".

They added that the "burden of ill health and mortality associated with poor diet rests disproportionately on those living in the most deprived communities".

In a briefing the organisations noted that improvements to the food environment, including increasing the number of healthy foods on promotion, would make it easier for people to access healthier options and ultimately improve the health of people in Scotland.

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of Public Health Scotland, said: “Nutritious food is essential for our health but our chances of accessing healthy food depend strongly on where we live.

"In Scotland, people living in communities associated with poverty, are less likely to have access to affordable, healthy food and are more likely to experience poor health as a result.

"Cost-of-living pressures have put healthier options out of reach for many. Very often, the food that is most accessible and heavily promoted are those most damaging to our health.

"We must ensure that eating well is the easiest thing to do – not the hardest. It’s only through direct action, like addressing marketing behaviours on unhealthy food, that we can improve Scotland’s health and reduce the widening health inequalities we are experiencing.

"We welcome the Scottish Government’s consultation as an important opportunity to drive change, a turning point to creating a food system for the people of Scotland that puts health as the number one priority.”

Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive of Food Standards Scotland, said: "The Scottish Government's consultation is a welcome move to target the heavy promotion of unhealthy food and is needed to rebalance our food environment and help address this critical public health issue.

"Promotions and marketing of unhealthy foods are a major part of our food environment and now more than ever what surrounds us, shapes us. We know that promotions are skewed towards these unhealthy options and can encourage us to buy more than we intended to.

"If now is not the time to take action, when is? When levels of over-weight and obesity reach 85% from the current two thirds of the adult population? 'Not now' cannot be an argument any longer.

"We can’t rely on personal responsibility alone to change our eating habits any longer: that approach has not worked for at least forty years and won’t work now. And we have had significant increases in preventable diseases and higher costs to the NHS. Personal responsibility is a component, but it’s not the solution. We need to rebalance our food environment to support healthier options.”

Feedback on the consultation proposals will help to inform regulations to be laid before the Scottish Parliament.