Foodwatch
Call for promotional bans for unhealthy children’s foods
Seductively colorful: consumer advocates want to regulate advertising for unhealthy children’s foods more strictly. Photo: Henning Kaiser / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Foodwatch appeals to the SPD and the Greens to insist on advertising restrictions in negotiations with the FDP. Health protection must have priority over “profit interests of the confectionery and junk food industry”.
The consumer organization Foodwatch is calling for the future federal government to ban advertising for unhealthy food specifically to children.
“The health protection of children must be more important than the profit interests of the confectionery and junk food industry,” said Foodwatch expert Saskia Reinbeck. Voluntary measures by the manufacturer are not suitable for this purpose.
According to Foodwatch, only products that meet the nutritional recommendations of the World Health Organization or have the most favorable rating for the nutritional logo Nutri-Score should be advertised for children.
Foodwatch refers to election programs
With a view to the ongoing explorations about a traffic light coalition, the consumer advocates called on the SPD not to sacrifice advertising restrictions in negotiations with the FDP. In the SPD election program it says: “We want to regulate advertising aimed at children.” Foodwatch also refers to an SPD board decision from May to prohibit “marketing aimed at children for unhealthy products such as sweets, soft drinks and fast food”.
Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz now has to keep his word, said Reinbeck. Advertising for unhealthy people promotes obesity and diseases such as diabetes.
The election manifesto of the Greens says: “For food advertising aimed at children, we want clear rules that are based on the criteria of the World Health Organization.” In its program, the FDP advocates “transparent nutritional information” and early nutrition education in day-care centers and schools.
The Nutri-Score logo, which manufacturers can use voluntarily, can be seen more and more in supermarkets. In addition to sugar, fat and salt, the system developed in France also includes recommended elements such as fiber or proportions of fruit and vegetables. The result is an overall value that is mapped on a five-point scale: from “A” on a dark green field for the most favorable balance to a yellow “C” to a red “E” for the least favorable.