Our policy
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We support responsible advertising of food and beverages. High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) Food & Beverage (F&B) Shopping ads are allowed if they comply with our policies. We consider ads to be promoting the sale of HFSS products when one or more HFSS food item, beverage, or meal is promoted in the ad (text, imagery, audio and/or video) or destination site. Specifically, Shopping ads that contain HFSS foods and beverages are now prohibited from targeting minors. The information reflected in this policy is not intended to be legal advice and we expect all merchants and partners to comply with the local laws for any region their ads target, including local requirements that may differ from this HFSS Food & Beverage policy. |
Below are some examples of F&B products (non-exhaustive) that are considered HFSS. Shopping ads that contain nutritional information indicating the products are within the allowed threshold for FSS and serving size/calories, or on successful appeal by the merchant, may be eligible to serve. For the complete nutritional thresholds for HFSS F&B products, please see the table below.
These are some examples of HFSS F&B:
- Sweetened beverages (soda, water, juice, coffee, tea, or sport drinks with added sugar or other caloric sweeteners), energy drinks
- Doughnuts, cakes, sweet biscuits, pastries, croissants, sweet bakery treats
- Fruits canned in syrup, dried fruit with added sugar
- Chocolate nut spreads, trail mix or nut bar with chocolate or candy, nuts coated in candy or honey
- Milkshakes
- Pork and beef sausage/hot dogs, salami, prosciutto, bacon, fried meats, fried fish
- Pizza, hamburger meals with fries, fried food (such as jalapeno poppers)
- Candy, chocolate, sweets, sugar confections, gummy snacks, ice cream, marshmallows
- Butter, salt, caloric sweeteners (e.g., maple syrup, agave, honey, sugar), coconut oil
Examples of Shopping offers outside the scope of this policy:
- Free product listings
- Ads or destination sites that include only text, imagery, audio, and/or video, etc. of foods, beverages, and meals that are not HFSS. Examples of non-HFSS F&B include (non-exhaustive): 100% juice; plain bottled water; carbonated water and flavored water with no added sugar or sweeteners; beverages containing ONLY water and 100% juice (e.g., diluted juice); unsweetened coffee and tea; low or non-fat plain milk; grains with no added ingredients; plain fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables; dry beans and lentils; fruit canned in water or 100% juice; plain nuts and seeds; nuts and dried fruit with no added salt or sugar; low or non-fat plain yogurt with no added sugar; plain fish, poultry, eggs or meat (no added salt, fat, sugar); plain flours; baking soda; baking powder; olive oil; canola oil
- Food or beverage company ads or destination sites that do not include text, imagery, audio, and/or video, etc. of any HFSS foods and beverages, such as:
- Brand logo or company name depicted on non-consumable merchandise (e.g. t-shirt, poster)
- Brand logo or company name depicted in a sponsorship or charity situation, i.e., “Sponsored by or brought to you by [company name]”
- Restaurant locator websites
- Restaurant review websites
- Restaurant delivery services
- Shopping ads that feature one or more HFSS F&B products, to promote a product or service that is not related to F&B, such as:
- A trailer for a baking show
- A tourism advertisement
- Ads for kitchen cleaning supplies
- Shopping ads that feature one or more HFSS F&B products, to promote a PSA message on healthy diets and eating
Effect of the policy
This policy update will apply to all HFSS F&B ads serving in the UK and EU on Shopping, including ads served through other products like Search. Ads identified as HFSS, and which have received the HFSS label will only serve to users with a declared age of 18 and above.
Need help?
Nutrient levels are applied on a 100-gram and per serving basis for global applicability and to reflect common labeled serving sizes and calorie levels for meal and meal components. If the serving size of your advertised food or beverage does not closely match the listed serving size (LSS), please evaluate your product using the per 100-gram criteria.
|
Food and Beverage |
PER |
Sat fat (g) |
Sodium (mg) |
Total sugar (g) |
Added sugar (g) |
Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Beverages |
||||||
|
All beverages except milk |
LSS (est 8 oz) |
N/A |
105 mg |
N/A |
0 |
N/A |
|
100 g |
N/A |
46 mg |
0 |
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|
Grains/breads |
||||||
|
Bread, bread products, noodles, rice, grains, pancakes |
LSS (est 100g) |
2 |
360 |
10 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
2 |
360 |
10 |
|||
|
Breakfast cereals |
LSS (est 30g) |
1.5 |
250 |
6.75 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
5 |
625 |
22.5 |
|||
|
Fruits, vegetables & legumes |
||||||
|
Processed fruit, vegetables & legumes |
LSS (est 90g) |
2 |
350 |
N/A |
0 |
N/A |
|
100 g |
2.2 |
390 |
0 |
|||
|
Nuts & seeds |
||||||
|
Nuts & seeds |
LSS (est 30g) |
3.5 |
130 |
4 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
12 |
430 |
13 |
|||
|
Dairy |
||||||
|
Milks & milk alternatives |
LSS (est 8 oz/245 g) |
5 |
200 |
22 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
3 |
82 |
9 |
|||
|
Cheese & cheese products |
LSS (est 30 g) |
3 |
228 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
10 |
760 |
||||
|
Yogurt & yogurt-type products |
LSS (est 170 g) |
5 |
136 |
19 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
3 |
80 |
11.5 |
|||
|
Meat, fish, egg, poultry & meat replacements |
||||||
|
Processed meat, poultry, fish, eggs and alternatives |
LSS (est 50g) |
2 |
335 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
4 |
670 |
||||
|
Meals & meal components |
||||||
|
Ready-made dishes & appetizers |
<315 calories (est 140 grams) |
5 |
545 |
14 |
N/A |
315 |
|
100 g |
4 |
390 |
10 |
225 |
||
|
Complete meal |
<510 calories (est 300 g) |
6.6 |
660 |
18 |
N/A |
510 |
|
100 g |
2.2 |
220 |
6 |
200 |
||
|
Snacks & treats |
||||||
|
Snacks & treats |
<150 calories (est 30g) |
1.5 |
120 |
6.75 |
N/A |
150 |
|
100 g |
5 |
400 |
22.5 |
500 |
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|
Sauces, condiments and culinary ingredients |
||||||
|
Sauces, condiments and culinary ingredients |
LSS (est 30g) |
2 |
135 |
1.5 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
100 g |
6.6 |
450 |
4.9 |
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