In the most important UK survey of its type, new studies via Action on Sugar and Action on Salt-based at the Queen Mary University of London, in affiliation with Children’s Food Campaign, has discovered half of (51%) of 526 food and drinks products that use cool animated film animations on % to enchantment to children are unnecessarily excessive in fat, saturated fats, sugar and/or salt.
According to the survey, producers and outlets are accused of intentionally manipulating children and parents into shopping ‘dangerously’ unhealthy merchandise that may inspire pester power and immoderate intake.
Unhealthy habits
Registered nutritionist Dr. Kawther Hashem, Campaign Lead at Action on Sugar based at the Queen Mary University of London, stated: “It’s surprising that corporations are exploiting the fitness of our youngsters through using cool animated film characters on their excessive sugar food and drinks products, mainly on sweets and candies, which might be already difficult to withstand for kids. Do we really want to trap children to need these products extra and pester their parents to shop for them? It is time for the law to curtail the industry’s unhealthy habits .”
Action on Sugar, Action on Salt, Children’s Food Campaign, and different groups call for a complete ban within the UK of such advertising and marketing techniques on unhealthy products and compulsory ‘traffic mild’ nutrition labeling, giving mother and father the threat to make healthier selections.
‘If advertising and marketing on youngsters’ packaging were to comply with the identical advertising and marketing codes as set by using the Committee for Advertising Practices for broadcast advertising, half of them might fail the eligibility criteria and consequently could no longer be allowed to be marketed to audiences below the age of 16’, the survey says.
The survey’s research exhibits that over one in five (21%) products used certified characters (Disney, Peppa Pig, and Paw Patrol), which might often be properly recognized using young kids. More than a third (37%) had been located on confectionery, chocolate, desserts, and ice cream, which are not advocated for everyday consumption. ‘Shockingly, 32 of the ninety-four merchandise surveyed (34%) the use of licensed characters have a red label for either fat, saturated fat, sugars, and/or salt, classifying them as being unhealthy. Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig were the worst person offenders, with greater than half of merchandise (57%) with Paw Patrol and 50% with Peppa Pig imagery being excessive in fat, salt, and/or sugar,’ the survey states.
Action on Salt, Action on Sugar, and Children’s Food Campaign are calling on these standards to be extended to all forms of media and to any program watched by way of a child, as is presently being mentioned within the government’s ultra-modern consultation on similarly advertising regulations for merchandise excessive in fat, salt, and sugar.
In a Children’s Food Campaign Parents’ Jury survey in 2018, more than 9 in 10 dads and moms stated they supported the authorities bringing restrictions on using baby pleasant TV and movie characters on ingredients high in fat, salt, and sugar. These characters and related toys changed into the second maximum problem of subject for dad and mom in phrases of junk food advertising and marketing techniques used to target children, after TV marketing.
The survey claims to no longer simplest spotlight products with extremely high tiers of fats, saturated fat, sugars, and/or salt, but also comparably more healthy alternatives, ‘demonstrating that reformulation is feasible.’
About the survey:
The survey looked at 520 products with packaging that might attractive to youngsters, to be had in all foremost UK retailers (Aldi, ASDA, Co-Op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose). Product information was collected in March 2019, from product packaging, the FoodSwitch Data Collector App usage, and where not to be had, captured online from the retailers’ website. Duplicates of the equal product with extraordinary sizes had been removed. Nutritional information becomes collected for all merchandise, blanketed people with more than one nutrition facts panel (i.E. Products with one-of-a-kind flavors), bringing the full of merchandise with vitamins facts to 527.