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Cartoon culprits blamed by childrens food survey |
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MediaGuardian
Stephen Brook, advertising correspondent
Wednesday February 23, 2005
Food manufacturers are cynically manipulating the food choices of children by using cartoon characters such as The Simpsons, Spider-Man and Bagpuss, the Consumer Association said today in a scathing report.
It identifies 18 "cartoon culprits" in a shopping trolley survey that found unhealthy levels of fat, sugar and salt in the products being promoted by the children's characters.
Bob the Builder, Scooby-Doo and Thomas the Tank Engine were among other characters featuring on unhealthy foods for children, according to the survey.
The Incredibles, for instance, was licensed by Disney to promote Nestle Golden Nuggets, which contained 40g of sugar per 100g, four times the Food Standards Authority guideline for "a lot" of sugar content.
Shark Tale characters were licensed by Dreamworks for Kellogg's Frosties, which contained 38g of sugar per 100g and 1.5g of salt, both classified as a lot.
Parents had expressed growing irritation about marketing methods, the association said.
"Parents felt really angry about the way they were being manipulated by the food industry," said Nick Stace, the Consumer Association campaigns and communications director.
A survey of 2,000 people found 77% thought using cartoon characters to promote food made it difficult for parents to refuse to buy unhealthy foods their children demanded.
And 81% of adults thought celebrities and sports personalities should promote healthy foods.
"If David Beckham did an advert about an apple, telling them how good it is and listing its vitamins, all the kids would be screaming for one," said one unnamed mother in a focus group who had a pre-school child.
Which? expressed frustration that the Food Standards Authority had not yet released guidelines on healthy levels of fat and sugar for children. Only a guideline on salt had been issued.
"The characters on the packaging change regularly to keep up with the latest film releases or favourites, but what's inside is usually the same - food that are high in fat, sugar or salt," the report says.
"While some of these products are treats, an enormous range of everyday foods such as breakfast cereals, pasta, ready meals and foods for lunchboxes also carry endorsements aimed at attracting children."
Which? has released a food shoppers' guide in the form of a laminated card detailing what constitutes high levels of ingredients. The information is available online and the association will distribute 10,000 cards outside supermarkets and shopping centres over the next few weeks.
It says 10g of sugar, 20g of fat, 5g of saturated fat and 1.25g of salt is a lot.
The watchdog said it contacted entertainment companies about its concerns over licensing deals but met with a poor response.
Which? said the government health white paper released last year, which flagged the possibility of legislation restricting marketing to children in 2007 if voluntary initiatives failed, was inadequate.
"The proposed initiatives still largely rely on the goodwill of individual companies," it said. |
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