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Abu Dhabi supermarkets remove junk food from 'temptation zones'; residents make swap
Supermarkets are beginning to clear unhealthy food and drinks from entrances, aisle ends, and checkout counters, and shoppers are already noticing the difference
- PUBLISHED: Thu 23 Jul 2026, 6:00 AM UPDATED: Thu 23 Jul 2026, 8:21 AM
At the checkout counters of a Carrefour branch in Abu Dhabi, the shelves of chocolate and gum that once lined the queue are gone.
The change is no accident. It is one of the first visible signs of a new directive requiring supermarkets across the emirate to remove unhealthy food and beverage products from 'high traffic zones', namely store entrances, ends of aisles and checkout counters, under the Abu Dhabi Healthy Living programme.
The temptation zones
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These three spots are typically a store's best-selling real estate, and the most likely to trigger unplanned purchases.
Rawdha Mohammed, an Omani resident, said the shift will change more than shopping habits. "It's an excellent, healthy step that will change many habits for us and our children, especially impulse buying at the counter. The checkout is a temptation zone; we buy things with no health benefit, just to fill the waiting time."
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Omaima Saleh, a Jordanian resident, said the entrance was always the part of the store that bothered her the most. "Unhealthy products at the supermarket entrance always bothered me, especially in those tempting promotional bundles. They distract you from your actual needs. What I saw at Carrefour was wonderful. Putting clean, healthy products up front will push people to think before they buy."
For Mansour Alhashmi, an Emirati, the change is measured in household economics. "We are a family of more than nine, so I watch what I buy carefully. What makes me happiest is that the sweets at the cashier have started disappearing. If you are buying for all the kids at once, the cost is high, and the harm is even higher."
Labels changing habits
The shift extends beyond store layout. Packaged foods are increasingly carrying the Nutri-Mark label, a front-of-pack grading system that rates products from A, the highest nutritional value, to E, the lowest.
Jamal Abdulaziz, an Egyptian resident, said the labels changed what ends up in his basket. "The labels pushed me to swap some products once I saw the sugar and hydrogenated oil levels in them. Honestly, I never used to pay attention, and most were my daily items: chocolate, chips, juices. I still love them, but my health matters more in the long run."
Maha Ahmed, an Emirati, said the TAMM app has filled the gaps the labels don't yet cover. "I use the TAMM app, and it helps a lot, especially with products that don't carry labels yet, because it classifies the food items for you. I hope the initiative later expands beyond food to childcare, body and skincare products."
Khaleej Times observed the change firsthand at one Carrefour branch in Abu Dhabi, while social media posts suggest the retailer is rolling out the directive gradually across its stores in coordination with relevant authorities.
The move is part of a wider push by Abu Dhabi that includes a ban on fast food advertising and stricter standards for school meals, an approach built on reshaping the environment around consumers rather than restricting their choices outright.
Emirati Journalist