Junk food ad controls in pipeline

The advertising of chips, chocolate, sugary fizz and other junk foods face new restrictions following a review.

“The major code change is an explicit restriction on advertising occasional food and beverage products to children,” said Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.

He sees the review of children’s food ads as an important part of his plan to reduce childhood obesity. Eleven per cent of New Zealand children are obese — and 33 per cent are either obese or overweight, the third highest rate in the developed world.

The review panel, reporting to the Advertising Standards Authority, has proposed a single voluntary code on advertising to children to replace the existing two children’s codes which cover food and general advertising.

One of the proposed code’s rules says: “Occasional food and beverage product advertisements must not be screened, broadcast, published or displayed in any media or setting where more than 25 per cent of the expected audience are children.”

The panel made no recommendation on how healthy foods should be distinguished from unhealthy foods, saying only that a new system should be developed. It suggested keeping on in the meantime with the existing system.

That system is similar to the Health Ministry’s classification system, defining “occasional” foods and drinks as those “too high in energy and/or saturated fat and/or added sugar and/ or sodium and provide minimal nutritional value”.

Advertisers and public health experts are at odds over the proposed new code, on which the authority says it will make a response “in the coming weeks”.