Food Makers in Europe Volunteer to Cut Ads Directed at Children

According to Reuters News Service, Brussels, companies in the European food and beverage industry have said that they would voluntarily change their policies on advertising for children by the end of next year (2008), setting standards on nutritional content to encourage more healthful lifestyles. The companies include Coca-Cola, Groupe Danone, Burger King, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Ferrero, and Unilever.

The European Union (EU) health commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, who has supported such self-regulation efforts, has labelled obesity the greatest health threat facing the European Union, with obesity in children being a particular area of concern. In response, the 11 companies indicated in a joint statement that they will heed recent calls by the European Union for the food industry to use commercial communications to support parents in making the right diet and lifestyle choices for their children. According to the article, "[t]hey agreed not to advertise food and beverages on television programs, Web sites, or in print media where children under age 12 could be considered a [primary] audience, except for products that met specific nutrition criteria. They also agreed not to engage in any commercial communications related to food and beverages in primary schools, except where specifically requested by or agreed to with the school administration for educational purposes."

As stated in the article, obesity has more than tripled in many EU countries since the 1980s, according to the World Health Organization, while obesity-related illnesses account for up to 7 percent of EU health care costs.