Loopholes still permit US brands to advertise unhealthy F&B to children, reveals report

05 Apr 2022 --- US children are still vulnerable to brand marketing of foods high in fat, added sugar and salt, despite a recent tightening of nutritional criteria in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). 

Through the CFBAI, major US food companies pledged to only advertise products that meet certain nutritional criteria directed to children under the age of 12.

However, a new report reveals that only minimal improvements have been made, with many brands skirting around the pledge to market unhealthy food and beverages to children. 

The research was conducted at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut.

More to be done
While the CFBAI’s revised nutrition criteria are a step in the right direction, they fall short of what’s needed to regulate the industry and keep kids healthy, says Melissa Jensen, the study’s lead author. 

“We know that unhealthy F&B marketing has a profound effect on kids’ diets and health. CFBAI must address loopholes and apply stricter standards in order to make meaningful improvement.” 

Brands may promote certain healthier products, while offering many more “unhealthy” products, taking advantage of increased brand awareness in general.She notes that more than one-third of food products that companies indicate may be advertised to kids do not qualify as healthy, including sugary cereals, sweet snacks and crackers. 

In addition, companies can advertise directly to children low-calorie drinks sweetened with sugar and/or non-nutritive sweeteners, even though child health experts recommend they should not be served to children. 

Promoting brands over products 
Although CFBAI may only depict products that meet nutrition criteria in their advertising, most brands continued to offer primarily unhealthy products. This loophole allows CFBAI brands to advertise in child-directed media, promoting brand awareness as a whole, even when most of their child-directed products do not meet nutrition criteria. 

For example, five children’s brands indicated that fewer than 10% of their products may be advertised to children, including Kool-Aid, Chef Boyardee Pasta, Lunchables, Rice Krispies and Pop-Tarts. 

Out of 33 available Pop-Tarts brand products, only three met the CFBAI’s Revised Nutrition Criteria and were listed as products that may be advertised to children. The remaining Pop-Tarts products exceeded added sugar limits, calorie limits in most products – and in some cases – also the saturated fat limit set by the CFBAI for the sweet snack category. 

Overall, two-thirds of products offered by brands that may advertise directly to children are not included on the CFBAI list. One-half of these non-listed food products did not qualify as healthy. 

Moreover, the initiative only restricts traditional advertising outlets and doesn’t account for product packaging, sponsorships or social media. 

A step up from 2017
The latest report also compares nutritional improvements made to children’s F&B between 2017 and 2020. In 2020, stricter nutritional revisions to the CFBAI came into effect. 

The analysis compared foods using the Nutrient Profile Index (NPI), a nutrient profiling model used in the UK. 

Following the 2020 implementation, researchers found the overall nutrition quality of drinks improved slightly. 

Current guidelines do not place restrictions on social media or marketing on pack.More than three-quarters of the drinks allowed for advertisement to children did not contain added sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners; companies added healthier drinks such as water and milk. The nutrition quality of sweet snacks and yogurts also improved slightly. 

During the three-year time period, the number of CFBAI brands also declined from 46 to 39, with a 19% decline in the number of products that may be advertised to children. 

The most significant declines in the number of listed products were in the meals and entrees categories (-72%) and sweetened exempt beverages (-72%), while the number of savory snack products increased 25%. The one fruit and vegetable product listed in 2017 was removed from the 2020 list.

Another revision required?
While 2020 saw an improvement in nutritional standards, the researchers suggest a stricter model would be more effective. Notably, no fruit or vegetables are on companies’ lists of products that may be advertised to children. 

The paper’s authors suggest the US model its criteria on nutrition profiling models established by independent experts, such as those in the UK, Chile and Mexico. 

The UK has adopted several measures to protect children from unhealthy F&B advertising, including restricting television ads before 9 pm and removing foods high in salt, sugar and fat from checkout aisles and discount campaigns. 

The experts also recommend that the CFBAI should expand its child audience definition to include children up to at least 14 years old and ideally 17 years old, who are unprotected under its current guidelines.   

At a governmental level, the researchers propose that the US federal government eliminate unhealthy F&B marketing to children as a tax-deductible corporate expense. They also ask the US Federal Trade Commission to establish voluntary guidelines for companies to ensure that the products they advertise to children promote a healthy diet. 

Lastly, they urge policymakers at the state and local levels to restrict unhealthy food marketing in their communities, including in schools, fast food restaurants and retail locations.  

By Missy Green

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