TV’s new junk food rules allow chips with everything

The Times

By Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor

Anomalies contained in new rules limiting junk food advertisements during children’s programmes mean that cheese and porridge cannot be promoted during Bob the Builder but fast-food restaurants have free rein to advertise during Dancing on Ice or The X Factor.
The rules, published yesterday by Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, have left parents, health campaigners, food manufacturers and the advertising industry all unhappy.
The consumer watchdog Which? predicted a rush of advertisements for oven chips, chicken nuggets and sugary breakfast cereals during early-evening family viewing.
There is concern that while characters such as Shrek or Postman Pat cannot be used to endorse food products on TV, companies can continue to use brand characters, such as Tony the Tiger on Kellogg’s Frosties.

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Food items 'incorrectly labelled'

The BBC

survey of children's food in the East Midlands revealed a quarter of products tested had misleading nutritional information on packaging.
Trading Standards officers found one packet of crisps contained 150% more sugar than stated.
The survey focused on products aimed at children, often with cartoon characters on the labels.
Of the 200 tested, 53 samples were unsatisfactory. The main problem was inaccurate nutritional information.

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