The powerful junk food lobby still faces a tough fight

CI’s Food Safety and Nutrition Programme Officer Anna Glayzer looks at the countries doing the best work in controlling food marketing to children and what it will take to motivate the rest.

Speaking at the European Network on Reducing Marketing Pressure on Children in Copenhagen last month gave me the opportunity to take stock of the efforts being made around the world to tackle junk food marketing.

Our member organisations are doing some fantastic work all over the world, most recently in Chinese Taipei, Fiji, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa and the UK.

The breadth of activity shows that, not only is the targeting of children by advertisers of high fat, salt and sugar foods an almost universal health threat, but also that consumer groups, along with other NGOs, are a vital part of efforts to protect our most vulnerable consumers.

But is our campaigning really making a difference? Is it actually pushing governments and companies to act?

A few national governments around the world are taking encouraging steps towards tighter controls on food marketing. For example, the Fijian Ministry of Health is currently drafting regulations. Also, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has drafted a code which includes applying restrictions to advertising aired during programmes for which more than 50% of the audience is younger than 18.

This code has prompted complaints from the Irish Breakfast Cereal Association, who lamented that it would result in the banning of ads for 75% of breakfast cereals. Given the nutritional quality of many children’s cereals, I would take this as an encouraging sign.

Meanwhile, in Norway the government is developing new legal restrictions on food marketing, including the development of a rigorous new nutrient profiling model. Both the Irish code and the Norwegian legal restrictions are due to come into force on 1 January 2013.

At the international level there is also progress. The World Health Organization (WHO) has worked extensively on marketing to children. It has just published A Framework for Implementing the Set of Recommendations on the Marketing of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages to Children.

As the title suggests, the Framework is intended to assist national governments in implementing the recommendations agreed by the World Health Assembly in 2010, in which governments were urged to act to protect children.

The WHO is also producing a manual for governments to use to develop a nutrient profiling model suitable for appliction to restrictions on marketing. Similarly, CI’s Manual on Monitoring Food Marketing is suitable for both governments and NGOs to use.

There is no shortage of tools on offer to help governments take simple, cost-effective, preventative measures on public health. The problem is that not enough governments are willing to commit to tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This was borne out by last September’s much anticipated UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs, which resulted in a disappointing output. A political declaration was produced but no time-bound targets were agreed. The voluntary targets since proposed by the WHO look set to be watered down further following consultation with member states.

As Jane Landon of the UK’s National Heart Forum pointed out whilst speaking in Copenhagen, the food industry has ‘wriggle room’ when it comes to re-formulating high fat, salt and sugar food or front-of-pack labelling. It cannot, however, be expected to co-operate meaningfully with measures for which the ultimate goal is: sell less processed food.

The only really effective solution therefore is legislation. The onus, for the time being, is on national governments to be a bit more like Norway.

Toying with children’s health

Anna Glayzer, Food and Nutrition Programme Officer, says the ban on 'Happy Meal' toys with junk food is a small but important move.

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to banning the giving away of toys with Happy Meals and similar fast food meals aimed at kids. The final vote is due next week, and though the mayor is threatening to veto the measure, the majority obtained in the vote means that the board can overturn the mayor’s veto.  If passed, the measure will come into effect in December 2011.

In fact, McDonald’s and the like have not actually been banned from giving away toys per se, it’s more that, if they do give away toys, it must be with meals that meet a set of minimum nutritional standards equivalent to the type of nutrient profiling model we have seen in legislation dealing with junk food marketing in other parts of the world.

Meals that allow toys
In order to merit a toy, a meal must contain less than 600 calories, have less than 1.6g of salt and from which less than 35 calories are derived from fat (less than 10 from saturated fat) unless that fat comes from nuts, seeds, eggs or low fat cheese.  Furthermore, any meal accompanied by a toy must contain at least half a cup of fruit and at least three quarters of a cup of vegetables or, if it is a breakfast meal, at least half a cup of fruit or vegetables.

Naturally the move has drawn complaints from fast food restaurants (with McDonald’s leading the fight) and cries of ‘nanny state’, and, ‘leave the parenting to the parents’ from some sections of the public.

Food marketing works
As a food campaigner at CI and elsewhere I have heard these arguments numerous times. The point about marketing to children is this:  It works.  If it didn’t work, quite simply, companies would not spend the money that they do on doing it.  In 2006 in the US, 10 fast food chains spent $360 million on the purchase of toys to give away with children’s meals.  Last year, McDonald’s spent $1.97 billion on advertising. That is just one company.

To put it in perspective, the World Health Organization’s entire annual budget for the promotion of health and development, and the prevention of risk factors for health conditions associated with use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and other psychoactive substances, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and unsafe sex is $0.16 billion. That is a lot of risk factors.

Children are the most credulous consumers, and the messages they receive about diet and nutrition come overwhelmingly from companies that sell high fat, salt and sugar foods, and whose sole purpose is to sell more. They have a highly developed and increasingly sophisticated set of tools with which to do this, effectively bypassing parents and other dietary influences.  Any move that counters this imbalance in any small way is to be welcomed. What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Fried and Tested
Read CI's report on the marketing of fast food to children Fried and Tested.

Nutrition conference: no unhealthy foods, just unhealthy consumers. Hubert Linders, CI Information Adviser, finds this hard to swallow.

Last week I participated in the most important conference for nutritionists in Latin America to officially launch the PAHO policy statement on reducing salt intake. About 2000 professionals and students were in Santiago to learn about diets, micronutrients, functional foods, food safety, or malnutrition, which not only means that there are people sick or dying because they don't have enough to eat. Increasingly it is used for overweight and obese people who eat too much processed food with high levels of salt, sugar and fat.

According to the industry, there are no good or bad foods, only unhealthy diets and a sedentary life. If that's true, why is fast food offered in huge portions? Or are fruit juices produced with flavours that don’t come close to the taste of the fruit shown on the packaging?

Asking companies, present with samples of their products, they told me ‘this is what the consumer wants.’ I very much doubt that. Does the industry produce what consumers want or do we eat what they offer because there are almost no other options? True, there are products called ‘light’, with less salt and better quality, but why do they always have to be more expensive?

If the industry produces what we want, why spend billions of dollars a year in advertising? On several occasions during the congress I heard that nutritionists have to educate consumers, called ‘patients’, because they don't know the truth. It seems obvious that they do not, simply by the fact that food ‘rich’ in salt, sugars and fats are more and more aggressively marketed in all media including TV, radio, Internet and on billboards, kiosks, schools and sporting or cultural events.

All this marketing is paid for by an industry that would have us believe that it is only our fault that almost all of us suffer from overweight and diseases like hypertension, while they want to ‘hook’ us on salty, sugary and greasy foods as young as possible. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Hong Kong is perfect setting for CI World Congress 2011

An invitation to attend the 35th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Consumer Council was a good opportunity to check up on preparations for the CI World Congress 2011 and to discover more about the development of consumer rights in Mainland China. CI’s Luke Upchurch reports back.

Hong Kong's dramatic skyline: the city will host CI's World Congress in 2011. Image by slack12 under Creative Commons licence.

‘It was a privilege to join friends and colleagues from the Asia Pacific consumer movement to mark 35 years of the Hong Kong Consumer Council (HKCC) last month. The Consumers International (CI) delegation, including President Samuel Ochieng and Director General Joost Martens, were able to get a taste of the major consumer issues in the region and see how consumer rights are developing as China’s consumer economy begins to stir. The choice of Hong Kong for the CI World Congress in May 2011 could not be more timely.

Along with a keynote address by Samuel Ochieng on the global nature of consumer rights, we heard from former leaders of the consumer movement in Hong Kong. Although barely 7 million people live in Hong Kong it has had an immense effect on the consumer movement across the region and, increasingly, on consumer rights in Mainland China itself.

Mr Yang Hong-can, Secretary General of the Chinese Consumers Association (CCA) spoke of recent developments in consumer protection and safety standards and put into context the tremendous importance of China’s consumers to the future of the global economy.

As China changes, CI believes consumer rights like access to basic needs, the right to safety and the right to be informed can play a progressive role in the development of civil society in China. Equally so, China’s consumers can play a leading role in the advancement of consumer rights worldwide.

Multinational corporations, in desperate need of new consumer markets, are falling over themselves to tap into what is perhaps the biggest reserve of consumer spending left anywhere in the world. These rapid changes are an unprecedented challenge for China’s consumers. Negotiating the costs, benefits and consequences of global consumer capitalism is an unfamiliar task for many of the country’s 1.3 billion people.

Chinese consumers need the global consumer movement’s experience and expertise now, more than ever. Equally, the consumer movement needs an informed and empowered Chinese citizenry to help ensure that business responds to consumer needs in China and around the world.

Putting consumer rights at the heart of policy

From high street banks, credit services and retail; to telecomms, energy provision and healthcare, China’s consumer industries are being exposed to the free market as never before. With the help and support of CI and its member organisations, China’s consumer activists must make sure that consumer rights and responsibilities are put centre stage in this period of immense change.

Helping member organisations and government authorities develop consumer law is a central tenant of CI’s work. And together with our national member, The China Consumers Association (CCA), we have opened dialogue with the Chinese authorities about expanding consumer protection and advancing product safety testing and standards.

But being part of establishing a legal framework for consumer protection is only one, albeit vital, element of consumer rights development. The rising number of multinational companies operating in China presents a variety of challenges that are all too familiar to the global consumer movement.

The junk food trap

Overweight and obesity levels in Asia Pacific are increasing at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. The WHO predicts that almost 45% of the Chinese male population will be overweight by 2010 . Modern diets are taking their toll, perpetuated by the growing number of Western-style fast food outlets in the country.

There are more than 1,000 KFC restaurants in China, and they are increasing at an annual rate of 200. McDonalds outlets are growing at a rate of 100 restaurants per year.

The food and soft drink industry is nestling itself in to everyday life in China; using tried and tested marketing techniques to promote junk food to a new generation of young Chinese consumers.

Tackling the marketing of unhealthy food to children is a major campaign for CI, with many members in the Asia Pacific region actively involved. As part of CI’s Junk Food Generation campaign, the Hong Kong Consumer Council revealed the persuasive power junk food marketing has over children with a Lunch Box Challenge in 2008 and a Supermarket Sweep in 2009.



Sharing expertise on financial services

The Chinese are traditionally great savers, yet, despite the economic downturn, credit-driven spending is playing an increasingly prominent part in China’s US$145 billion retail economy.

Credit cards were first introduced in China in 2002 and, in 2007, WTO obligations opened China’s high street banking market to foreign companies. So, as China’s swelling middle-class develops a taste for the material trappings of consumer culture, the multinational banks and credit services have arrived to provide the necessary funds.

Whether it is calling for greater access to genuine credit facilities for poor communities (often those who need it most), or demanding more transparency from banks on repayment conditions, fair and just consumer credit provision is an ongoing campaign theme for many CI members.

CI’s recent work on the solutions to the financial crisis has put this experience and expertise centre stage. This needs to be shared with our colleagues in China as consumers there face up to the opportunities and pitfalls presented by high street credit providers.

The global impact of China’s consumers

The potential size of China’s consumer market means the development of consumer rights there can reverberate around the world. The country’s geopolitical influence, backed up by the global reach of its export industry means everything from toy safety to the ethical criteria of clothing manufacturers can benefit from the development of consumer rights in China’s domestic market.

CI has a responsibility to help China support the rights of its consumers. This will help raise consumer protection and product safety standards both within China, and internationally. CI will be working with its member organisations and other key stakeholders to seize the opportunity of China’s economic openness and build durable, fair and inclusive consumers protection in China. A strong consumer movement in China has the potential to benefit us all and Hong Kong’s hosting of CI World Congress 2011 will be an important step in achieving this aim.’

World Consumer Rights Day 2009 - Highlights from around the world

World Consumer Rights Day took place on Sunday, 15 March this year – Justin, Macmullan, CI’s Head of Campaigns, reflects on the day’s activities and highlights:

‘If anyone still questions whether the marketing of junk food to children is a global issue, then World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2009 has given the clearest possible answer.

This year more than 60 CI members from four continents took part in WCRD with public meetings, street stalls, performances and much more. Consumers around the world saw their organisations collecting signatures for the global campaign, raising awareness and attracting media attention.

New research from several organisations also highlighted how food companies are continuing to promote food that is high in fat, sugar or salt to children, despite growing concerns about rising levels of obesity and overweight in children.

With the World Health Organization (WHO) expected to release their draft recommendations on the marketing of food to children in the next couple of weeks, CI members have put the call for an effective international code centre stage for consumers, the media and governments.

CI used the day to launch a report, New media, same old tricks, highlighting how food companies continue to market food high in fat, sugar and salt on their own websites using games, free downloads and online clubs.

Guest blogs on CI’s Junk Food Generation campaign blog, included contributions from Ed Mayo at Consumer Focus in the UK and Jeff Chester from the Centre for Digital Democracy in the US underlined the dangers of online marketing of food to children. Whilst Luisa Villa's entry about a clever online film showed how consumer organisation Altroconsumo is fighting back in Italy.

The following are just some of the highlights from around the world:

• In Brazil, new research from IDEC showed that several international food companies are continuing to market food to children in Brazil, despite their having banned such practices in Europe. IDEC held a large meeting to release the results and will be writing to the companies calling on them to adopt the same standards in Brazil as they do elsewhere.



• In Armenia, ANNA held a supermarket sweep. The activity involved asking children what they would choose from the supermarket shelves if they were doing the shopping. Whilst some children chose healthy options, the bright packaging and marketing of some unhealthy products certainly attracted some of the young consumers.



• In Australia, CHOICE also revealed in a new report that children continue to be exposed to a high volume of junk food ads during the television programs they watch most. In the Choice test more than half of the food adverts aired between 6am and 9pm failed a healthy food test.’

Visit the Junk Food Generation website for more highlights and member activities on the day.

Seeing Access to Knowledge in action in Asia Pacific

Luke Upchurch, CI Head of Media, on CI’s recent Asia Pacific and the Middle East member meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:

Once again I was impressed with the strength, enthusiasm and commitment of the consumer movement in the region. Two days of debate, creative thinking and advocacy planning showed just how advanced consumers groups in Asia Pacific are becoming. It was also excellent to meet some determined and enthusiastic delegates from the consumer movement in the Middle East.

Together with the generous support of CI members from Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia, the CI KL Office were able to bring together over 30 consumer organisations from across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. This included the welcome attendance of some of our smaller member organisations from Jordan and Nepal, as well as observer delegates from the consumer movement in Saudi Arabia and the Malaysian government.

Proceedings on Day One focused on CI’s new Access to Knowledge project – A2K Network. This exciting new initiative seeks to show how copyright and intellectual property law is working against basic consumer rights by denying fair access to educational, cultural and commercial knowledge. The project is calling for fair and open access to academic books and cultural works, as well as CDs, computer software, DVDs and online content.

The level of support among members for the A2K Network – which is being coordinated globally from CI’s KL office – was extremely encouraging. Many are already contributing to the global IP Watchlist – an intiative unique to the A2K Network designed to reveal the state of anti-consumer intellectual property legislation around the world.

Day Two gave us the chance to discuss member activities for World Consumer Rights Day 2009, and I was encouraged by the range of plans to take action as part of the CI’s Junk Food Generation campaign – from the Lunch Box Challenge, to the Supermarket Sweep. And, of course, the promotion of CI’s junk food marketing code.

This regional consumer group summit was a great exchange of ideas. In his address to the meeting, CI’s DG Joost Martens spoke of the vital role CI continues to play in facilitating dialogue and action among national consumer organisations. This gathering certainly showed how constructive face to face dialogue can be: small members learning from our larger organisations, sharing experience, pooling knowledge and drawing strength from our common objectives. It was Access to Knowledge in action!

New anti junk food ad campaign in Ukraine

In support of the CI Junk Food Generation Campaign and with the aim to curb the consumption and marketing of junk food in Ukraine, the EU-UNDP Consumer Society and Citizen Networks Project is publishing a series of posters and putting them up all over the country. The well-crafted images show implements in a hospital operating room replaced with kebabs, hotdogs and hamburgers. The idea being to demonstrate the lethal implications of too much junk food.

What do you think about them?
Would they prevent you from eating junk food?

Do they show the dangers of an unhealthy diet?

Click on the comments link below and share your thoughts.

More sugar than a doughnut, as salty as seawater

... that's the shocking finding from CI's latest study into the contents of some of the world's most popular children's breakfast cereals. Cereal Offences looks at Nestlé and Kellogg's cereals marketed to children in 32 countries and reveals sugar levels as high as 40% to be commonplace (The UK Food Standards Authority considers 12.5% to be 'high').

Table: Nestlé Nesquick cereal - total sugars (%) by country, rated against UK FSA traffic light criteria

The study also found alarming levels of salt in several popular children's cereals, including one Kellogg's product with a salt content of 2.5% - that's the same as seawater!

Table: Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal - total soduim chloride (salt) (%) by country, rated against UK FSA traffic light criteria

Download the full report and find out more about what CI and its member organisations are doing about the marketing of unhealthy food to children at http://www.junkfoodgeneration.org/

Food advertising and Euro 2008

OCU (Organisation of Consumers and Users) in Spain and a number of BEUC (Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs) member organisations, have expressed their concern about the choice of McDonalds and Coca-Cola as official sponsors of Euro 2008 to UEFA, the European football body.

In a joint press release, OCU and BEUC said that they found it particularly worrying to see the promotion of food and beverages with a high salt, sugar and fat content to children who are watching their sporting heroes in action.

They are calling on UEFA to curb links with companies promoting junk food for future sporting events.

Want to know more about the marketing of unhealthy food to children? Visit the CI Junk Food Generation campaign website.