Your kids want to go to McDonalds only and nowhere else for a burger – reason, they offer a toy with every burger you order. Their preferences for beverage based malts change every time a new ad is shown on the TV enticing kids with freebies. So, in short, everything you buy for kids depends on the freebies the food products offer rather than the nutritional value.
Well, parents of South African kids can heave a sigh and be relieved if the proposed food regulations regarding the marketing of food products are passed.
Some of the recommendations made are:
1) Freebies not to be offered with food products for kids.
2) Child actors and models, and cartoon characters should not be used to promote any junk food.
3) All fake nutritional claims to be stopped; for example beverages that claim to make your kids taller, smarter, etc. especially for kids under 16.
4) These food products may not be advertised in pre-schools or schools.
5) All junk food must have a warning saying the product makes consumers fat and is unhealthy (which manufacturer would do that!)
6) Foods that use products triggering allergy must be mentioned on the label. For eg. peanuts, milk, fish, etc so that people with specific allergy do not consume them.
The list of foods that are considered unhealthy and “not essential” include sweets, pastries, fizzy and sports drinks, sweetened cereals, chewing gum, flavored fat spreads like mayonnaise, energy bars, etc. So, all advertisements and marketing of these related food products must follow the above proposed rules.
The idea behind this is not to term the ‘not essential’ foods as bad foods, but to offer people a choice of healthy eating. But, manufacturers of such food products are unlikely to sit quite while these regulations are being passed given the enormous demand for such products.
Such a move may in fact not tempt the kids, as ‘out of sight is out of mind’, but do you think it really stops kids going to McDonalds or Pizza Hut?
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