In a move that should please obesity campaigners, the CEOs of the world’s leading food and non-alcoholic drinks companies have announced “enhanced” global commitments in the marketing of unhealthy products to children.
The commitments, announced last week, form part of a broader package of measures sent in a letter to World Health Organisation director general, Dr Margaret Chan, which will guide companies’ health and wellness strategies over the coming years.
The package, which was also produced in partnership with the International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA), includes a commitment to product reformulation and information, as well as a common approach to the provision of nutrition information on packaging, at point of sale and through other channels by the end of 2016.
The expanded policy will cover the majority of media – including radio, cinema, direct marketing, mobile, interactive games, DVDs and product placement – and will ensure that the use of certain marketing techniques that are primarily directed at children under 12, such as licensed characters, film tie-ins and certain celebrities, are only for products meeting the “better-for-you” criteria.
Under the previous policy and in the absence of one single global set of nutritional guidelines, the companies that advertise “better-for-you” products to children under 12 defined their own nutrition criteria, based on “acceptable international and national guidelines”.
Under the new guidelines, members will have to commit to working towards “harmonising nutrition criteria” to ensure that “better-for-you” foods are based on robust common standards, as part of expanding pledge efforts on a regional or national basis.
“The major food and beverage companies have strict controls in place on how they communicate with younger audiences,” said Stephan Loerke, managing director of the World Federation of Advertisers.
“This latest strengthening of the IFBA global policy demonstrates the extent to which IFBA members are taking their responsibilities seriously when it comes to marketing to children.”
Commenting on the move, Maura Gillespie, interim programme director for policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Nearly two-thirds of UK adults and around a third of UK children are overweight or obese, putting them in grave danger of developing coronary heart disease. That’s why, when it comes to helping consumers eat a healthy balanced diet, the healthy choice must be the easy one.
“We welcome the International Food and Beverage Alliance’s commitments but we must take bolder and braver steps if we are to tackle the obesity crisis head on.
“Companies should adopt clear front-of-pack labelling, using colour coding and stop bombarding children with junk food advertising before 9pm to help stop them being tempted into making unhealthy choices.
“We look forward to seeing details of how each company’s will achieve its commitments by the end of 2014.”
The updated global IFBA policy on marketing to children can be downloaded here.
