Children’s Food Campaign

Coordinated by Sustain, 94 White Lion Street, LondonN1 9PF

19/06/2009 – for immediate release.

CHILDREN’S GROUPS TELL ADVERTISERS: “PROTECT ALL CHILDREN FROM JUNK FOOD MARKETING”

Leading UK children’s groups, including the Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau, and Children’s Rights Alliance for England,have today called on advertisers to tighten up their rules so that all children are properly protected from junk food advertising.

The letter, signed by seven organisations representing the rights of the UK’s children, calls for changes to the Committee on Advertising Practice’s Code. This sets standards for advertising, including advertising to children, across media including posters and billboards, the internet and text messaging, cinema, and sales promotions.

While the Code provides some protection to children below the age of 12 from marketing of unhealthy products, it contains loopholes which excludes older children from such protection. By contrast, mandatory regulation, enforced by government body Ofcom, protects all children up to the age of 16 from unhealthy food advertising during children’s television programmes.

The letter states: “We believe that all children and young people under the age of 16 have a right to be protected from unhealthy food marketing“ and calls for amendments which remove the current loophole.

Christine Haigh, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, which coordinated the letter, said: “Given the poor diets of many of the UK’s children, and the rising tide of childhood obesity, it is vital that all children are protected from advertisers aggressively promoting junk food.”

She added: “It is ridiculous that UK law protects children up to the age of 16 from junk food advertising during children’s television programmes, yet marketers have a free-for-all when it comes to other media, such as the internet and text messaging.”

Ends.

For further information please contact: Christine Haigh, Children’s Food Campaign Joint Coordintaor, Sustain. Mob: 07870 577934 or tel: 020 7837 1228.

Notes to editors:

  1. The letter to the Committee on Advertising Practice was signed by National Children’s Bureau, The Children’s Society, Children’s Rights Alliance for England, Alliance for Childhood, Child Growth Foundation, British Association for Community Child Health and the Children’s Food Campaign.
  1. The Committee on Advertising Practice’s Code . The letter responds to a twelve week consultation on the Code’s content, which closes today.
  1. The Children's Food Campaign works to improve children's health and well-being through better food - and food teaching - in schools, and protecting children from junk food marketing. We are supported by over 300 national and local organisations and 12,000 members of the public. The Children's Food Campaign is coordinated by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming and is funded by the British Heart Foundation.For more details see