Claim junk food advertising ban is 'completely flawed'

Published on Thursday 21 December 2006 12:01

NEW rules to curb junk food adverts aimed at children were today branded "completely flawed" because some of the TV shows most popular with youngsters will not be covered by the restrictions.

The crackdown would ban adverts for food and drink high in fat, salt and sugar from all shows targeted at under-16s and some adult programmes of "particular appeal" to that age group.

But consumer magazine Which? today criticised the criteria for assessing which shows were of "particular appeal" because regulator Ofcom looks at the ratio of children to adult viewers rather than the actual number of under-16s watching.

Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Emmerdale and The X Factor would all be excluded from the restrictions, Which? said.

The consumer group is lobbying for a total ban on all adverts for junk food before 9pm.

It found that many children aged four to 16 years were watching television in the evenings.

None of the 20 ITV1 shows most watched by children during that period would be subject to the advertising restrictions.

An Ofcom spokesman said a pre-9pm watershed would quash commercials aimed at adults and was not feasible.