Food Standards Agency
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Listen to this siteSaturday 31 March 2007
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On 1 April 2007, scheduling restrictions on the television advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children will begin.
These restrictions are intended to reduce significantly the exposure of children to television advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar. They are being introduced as a step towards improving children's diets and tackling rising levels of obesity.
Currently, 80% of food advertising spend within children's airtime is on food high in fat, salt and sugar, such as confectionery, soft drinks, crisps, savoury snacks, fast food and pre-sugared breakfast cereals.
This is while figures show that the level of obesity in the UK has tripled in the past 20 years and is still increasing. Around one-third of children aged 2-15 are either overweight or obese, according to the latest available data for England. Poor diet is a contributory factor to heart disease, as well as cancer and stroke.
Under the new rules, any advertiser wishing to advertise food on television during children's airtime will be required to assess the nutritional composition of their product against the Agency's Nutrient Profiling model.
The Nutrient Profiling model uses a scoring system that recognises the contribution made by beneficial nutrients (protein - as a marker for calcium and iron levels - fibre, fruit and vegetables, and nuts) and penalises food with components that children should eat less of (energy, saturated fats, salt and sugars). The model recognise the importance of cereal, meat and dairy-based foods and fruit, vegetables and nuts to the diet. During development, the model was tested against 300 foods to ensure the results are consistent with the views of nutrition professionals, and with existing advice on healthy eating.
The model has undergone rigorous scientific scrutiny and extensive consultation. Its development was overseen by an Expert Working Group, which included independent nutritionists and dietitians, as well as industry and consumer representatives. It has strong backing from a wide range of nutritional experts, including the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and is supported by Public Health and Broadcasting Ministers.
In addition to the reviews that will be carried out by the Department of Health and the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, into how the new advertising restrictions are working, the FSA will review the impact of the model on the foods that are subject to broadcast advertising one year from the start of its use. This review was agreed in October 2005. As we did when developing the model, we will be seeking input from stakeholders at key intervals in the review process. Details for the process of this review will be outlined in due course.
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