What foods are Northern Ireland supermarkets promoting? A content analysis of supermarket online

Food promotions (n = 1885; food (n = 1613, 86 %), beverages (n = 272, 14 %); Branded (n = 1407, 75 %), Own-brand products (n = 478, 25 %)) from the ‘Top Offer’ section of leading NI supermarkets (Tesco, ASDA, and Sainsbury's) and a convenience store (SPAR) were collected online every 3 weeks between April 2014 and April 2015 (12 months; 18 data collections). Nutrient Quality (NQ) scoring method based on the Food Standard Agency's Front-of-Pack labelling system (focusing on the risk nutrients sugar, salt, fat, saturated fat) and energy cut-offs defined by Bell et al. Food types promoted differed significantly to the PHE Eatwell recommendations (P < 0·001; Pearson Chi-squared value = 744·2) and were as follows (current study vs Eatwell recommendations) ‘High Fat High Sugar Foods’ (33 % vs 7 %), ‘Bread, Rice, Potatoes & Pasta’ (21 % vs 33 %), ‘Meat, Fish Eggs and Beans’ (20 % vs 12 %), ‘Fruit and Vegetables’ (14 % vs 33 %), ‘Milk and Dairy Products’ (12 % vs 15 %).