Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 4/29/11

Four federal agencies are seeking comment on a set of proposed voluntary principals to guide food companies in marketing their products to children in an effort to combat childhood obesity.

The Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and USDA posited the principals as they work together to improve the nutritional quality of foods marketed to kids aged 2 to 17 years. The principals are designed to encourage “stronger and more meaningful self-regulation” by food makers and to help parents in providing more healthful foods to their children, the agencies said in a joint news release.

One in three children is overweight or obese, and the rates are even higher among some racial and ethnic groups, they said.

“To their credit, some of the leading companies are already reformulating products and rethinking marketing strategies to promote healthier foods to kids. But we all have more work to do before we can tip the scales to a healthier generation of children,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “This proposal encourages all food marketers to expand voluntary efforts to reduce kids’ waistlines.”

The proposal sets out two basic nutrition principles for foods marketed to children. Advertising and marketing should encourage children to choose from food groups including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products, fish, extra-lean meat and poultry, eggs, nuts or seeds, and beans. In addition, the saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars, and sodium in foods marketed to children should be limited to minimize the negative impact on children’s health and weight.

The federal agencies’ working group proposes that industry meet the proposed nutritional principles and marketing criteria by 2016. For sodium, the proposal includes interim targets for 2016 and final targets for 2021.

The FTC has posted a request for comments on the proposed principles to its website. Interested parties will have 45 days to comment, including a half-day forum May 24 in Washington D.C. to accept comments in person. Public comments will be considered by the agencies before the final report is submitted to Congress.

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