Citation
(2009), "Ofcom", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739cab.015
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Ofcom
Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 3.
As Ofcom releases their review into the impact of the TV advertising restrictions for the marketing of unhealthy food to children, Helen McCallum, Communications Director at Which? said:
“These regulations are a good start but they don't go far enough. While we welcome the reductions in the number of unhealthy food adverts that children see, Ofcom's rules don't stop, for example, Coco the Monkey appearing in the middle of The X Factor, one of the most popular shows with children. Although adverts like this are obviously child-focused, they aren't caught by either Ofcom's scheduling restrictions or the industry content rules.
“The Government must now work with the industry to ensure that unhealthy promotions that fall outside these restrictions are covered. Food companies and the advertising industry must tighten their own codes to demonstrate that they are now taking a responsible approach across the board, including on packaging and the Internet”.
Which?'s view:
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We welcome the reductions in children's exposure to adverts for less healthy foods.
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However, Which? research has repeatedly found child-appealing promotions for high fat, salt or sugar foods being shown during programmes when lots of children are watching.
What Which? wants:
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The new rules are a good start but must be extended if we are to see a genuine shift away from ads for sugary, fatty and salty foods that appeal to children and an increase in promotions for healthier foods.
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We also want to see food companies and the advertising industry improve their own codes to ensure that they stop promotions for less healthy foods to children across all media, including on the internet and packaging and instead encourage marketing of healthier foods to children as part of the package of measures needed to combat the alarming rises in childhood obesity and diet-related disease.