Food producers serve up spin, warns charity

Published on Saturday 13 December 2008 18:48

FOOD companies are misleading parents through legal loopholes and spurious health claims to market unhealthy food to children, a charity warned last night.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has exposed what it claims are the "top five" marketing tactics companies use to advertise children's food that is high in fat, sugar and salt.

The report, prepared by food campaigning group The Food Commission on behalf of the BHF, said companies made claims about the quality of products to hide the true nutritional content and used selective nutritional and health information.

Companies also used "emotional insight" to empathise with mothers about the difficulties in raising a family, and imagery to entice and mislead parents, the report said.

Kellogg's claimed its Coco Pops Cereal and Milk Bars were the "best choice for a lunchbox treat", a quality claim judged by the charity to be misleading, and used images of grapes and a wholemeal bread sandwich on packaging despite containing 41g of sugar per 100g.

Dairylea promised "no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives added" despite Dairylea Bites each containing 16% of a five to 10-year-old child's guideline daily allowance for saturated fat.

The report also singled out fast-food manufacturers for using "emotional insight" and "imagery" to persuade parents to buy their products.

An advert for KFC used the "common problem" of parents getting children to help with household chores by showing children volunteering to clean up after eating one of the takeaway chain's meals.

An advert for Burger King's Aberdeen Angus Mini-Burgers showed a motherly figure declaring "the lunch battle is over".

The BHF said: "The energetic mum, covered in cooking utensils, conveys an image of a healthy home-cooked meal. In reality each BK Angus Mini Burger with cheese contains more than a fifth of a child's daily recommended maximum saturated fat intake."

Firms are not allowed to advertise junk food during commercial breaks in children's programmes, but current regulations fall short of the total pre-watershed ban called for by many health campaigners, including the BHF.

The report also said companies were showing "misleading" adverts during shows popular with young people like The X Factor, despite the regulations.

The BHF wants "consistent" junk food marketing regulations across all media and a mandatory front-of-pack food labelling system to help parents understand the nutritional values of children's products.

BHF chief executive Peter Hollins said: "It is clear that some food companies are preying on parents' concerns to actively market children's food that is high in sugar, fat and salt.

"They are manipulating legislative loopholes to find new tactics to entice children and their parents."

But manufacturers denied the report's findings. A Kellogg's spokesman said: "To suggest we exploit marketing loopholes as a matter of course is rubbish. Our on-pack claims are rigorous and all our marketing reflects the latest advertising codes."

Kraft, the maker of Dairylea, said: "Parents tell us that no artificial ingredients are important to them so that's what we highlight."

A Burger King spokesman said: "The Warrior Mums advertising campaign is designed to help mums find a quality treat for their kids whilst out of the home, and is not designed to be a substitute for a home-cooked meal."

KFC could not be contacted.

Misleading

Kellogg's claimed its Coco Pops Cereal and Milk Bars were the "best choice for a lunchbox treat" and used images of grapes and a wholemeal bread sandwich on packaging despite having 41g of sugar per 100g

Dairylea promised "no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives added" despite its Bites each containing 16% of a five to 10-year-old child's guideline daily allowance for saturated fat

An ad for KFC showed children volunteering to clean up after eating one of the chain's meals.

An ad for Burger King Aberdeen Angus Mini-Burgers showed a motherly figure declaring "the lunch battle is over".