As part of a health initiative, Berkeley is getting ready to become the first city in the US to require large grocery stores to stop allowing the sales of junk food and candy in checkout aisles(过道). The new rule is expected to go into effect in March 2021.
The "Healthy Checkout Ordinance(法规)" was approved by Berkeley's City Council. It requires stores over 2,500 square-feet in size to sell at least 25 square-feet of healthy items within a three-foot radius(半径) of checkout registers. So now instead of candy and soda and other high calorie items, shoppers can expect to see fresh fruit and whole grain alternatives at checkout counters.
"Placement of unhealthy snacks near a register increases the likelihood that customers will purchase these foods and drinks when willpower is weak at the end of a long shopping trip," City Council member Kate Harrison said. The new rule will affect at least 25 retailers(零售商)in Berkeley. These include Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens and Safeway.
"It's not a ban: it's a nudge(推动)," Harrison said. "Stores can still sell candy and soda, just not at your child's eye level in the checkout." The council said the shift to selling more healthy products at checkouts will still be profitable for stores because data shows customers are looking for more low sugar and low sodium products anyway. They also said retailers in test cases around the country and in California have seen dramatic increases in sales of healthy foods since they changed their checkouts to include more fresh options in displays.
The ordinance will make grocery stores a "more neutral and health-friendly space for consumers," said Ashley Hickson, senior policy associate at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Junk food makers spend a lot to make sure their products are front and center in stores, Hickson said, but some consumers don't like the practice. In a CSPI survey, 76% of shoppers who bought unhealthy food or drink at checkout regretted the purchase, she added.