The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) is launching a consultation on the implementation of tighter restrictions on junk food advertising.

The consultation examines the proposed regulations to implement the restrictions in the UK Advertising Codes and the interpretation of the guidelines.

In May, the plans to ban ads for products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) before 9pm were postponed to January 2026 after increasing pressure from food and media brands.

Additionally, tighter restrictions for HFSS food advertisements are set to be placed on paid-for space on the internet.

The upcoming consultation is on behalf of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and aims to provide clarity on the enforcement guidelines and law regarding brand advertising.

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The CAP will open the consultation for responses from stakeholders until 9 October 2025.

Addressing the House of Commons in April, health minister Ashley Dalton said, “While it is for a court to interpret the legislation, the government’s view remains that pure brand advertising is not in scope of this policy.

“This is because the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products and not adverts that could be reasonably understood to be advertising brands.

“We therefore expect that businesses will still have opportunities to promote their brands, provided that their adverts do not identify a less healthy product.”

Under the new 2025 regulations, “brand advertisements” are explicitly exempt from the scope.