Berkeley grocery shoppers are buying less soda and small-package candy after a 2021 citywide ordinance prohibiting the display of unhealthy foods at checkout counters, according to a recent study from Boston University and UC Davis.
Berkeley’s Healthy Checkout ordinance, which is the first of its kind globally, restricts sugary drinks and high-sugar foods from being displayed near checkout areas in major retailers. Stores are still permitted to sell these items elsewhere in the establishment.
The ordinance aims to reduce sugar and sodium consumption, which is “a major driver of obesity,” according to Susana Matias, a public health nutrition researcher at UC Berkeley.
After analyzing 71 chain store locations in Berkeley, the study found a nearly 40% fall in soda sales compared to trends in other cities.
“Checkout is … uniquely influential over impulse purchases. Big ultra-processed food and beverage companies pay large marketing fees to stores to place their products at checkout to boost sales,” said Jennifer Falbe, a nutrition and human development professor at UC Davis, who co-authored the study, in an email. “This law only regulates the checkout lane.”
Although the law limits small-package sodas sold in checkout lines, sales of large packages of soda accounted for much of the reported decline. Researchers found limited changes for small packages.
“The policy appears to have changed some purchasing patterns, but not uniformly across products or store types,” said Justin White, associate professor at Boston University School of Public Health and lead author of the study, in an email. “That gives policymakers a more realistic picture of both the potential and limits of checkout policies.”
Though overall candy sales increased after the law’s implementation, the study found a 43% decline in small-package candy sales after enforcement.
“I’m incredibly proud to have authored Berkeley’s Healthy Checkout legislation,” said former Berkeley City Councilmember Sophie Hahn, who co-authored the ordinance. “This is exactly the outcome advocates and I predicted when the legislation was put forward.”
Similar policies such as Berkeley’s 2014 penny-per-ounce levy on sweetened beverages also showed a decrease in soda consumption.
White highlighted the importance of cities making rules easy for stores to understand and implement to help manage and enforce compliance. He noted that other parts of stores — such as the endcaps, store entrances and seasonal displays — may also matter for prompting healthy choices.
“(The policy) impacts the chronic disease people will ultimately have, diabetes in the Black community being one of the most paramount,” said Wilhelmenia Wilson, the executive director of Healthy Black Families, a Berkeley-based health nonprofit. “I think it’s an excellent preventative mechanism that can be implemented in a very practical way.”