Food firms 'misleading parents'
Updated on 14 December 2008
Food companies are misleading parents through legal loopholes and spurious health claims to market unhealthy food to children, a charity said.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) claims to "expose" the "top five" marketing tactics it said companies used to advertise children's food high in fat, sugar and salt.
The report, prepared by food campaigning group The Food Commission on behalf of the BHF, said companies made claims about the quality of products to hide the true nutritional content and used selective nutritional and health information.
Companies also used "emotional insight" to empathise with mothers about some of the difficulties in raising a family, and imagery to entice and mislead parents, the report said.
Kellogg's claimed its Coco Pops Cereal and Milk Bars were the "best choice for a lunchbox treat" and used images of grapes and a wholemeal bread sandwich on packaging despite containing 41g of sugar per 100g, the study said.
Dairylea promised "no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives added" but did not mention that one "bite" contained nearly a third of a child's daily recommended maximum saturated fat intake.
An ad for KFC showed children volunteering to clean up after eating one of the takeaway chain's meals, while an ad for Burger King Aberdeen Angus Mini-Burgers showed a motherly figure declaring "the lunch battle is over".
The BHF commissioned the report as part of its Food 4 Thought childhood obesity campaign.
The report also said companies were showing "misleading" adverts during shows popular with young people like the X Factor, despite regulations banning the advertising of junk food during children's programmes.
The BHF is calling for a ban on all junk food television advertising before 9pm.
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