One year after announcement: associations warn of failure of the Children's Food Advertising Act

27-Feb-2024

Health and consumer associations deplore the political standstill in child protection in food advertising. The "traffic light" coalition must finally implement the mandate from the coalition agreement and initiate the law planned by Federal Nutrition Minister Cem Özdemir to restrict advertising for unhealthy foods, explained the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), the AOK Federal Association, the German Alliance for Non-Communicable diseases (DANK) and the consumer organization foodwatch. According to the organizations, effective regulations to protect children from advertising for foods high in sugar, fat and salt are long overdue.

"A broad alliance of civil society organizations and scientists has been campaigning for more child protection and clear advertising regulation for some time. The majority of consumers are in favor of advertising restrictions to protect children's health. The evidence is also compelling: advertising regulation works. Proposals on how such regulation can be implemented have been on the table for over a year now. Now politicians must take action. The Federal Chancellor must make every effort to reach an agreement among the coalition partners," says Ramona Pop, Director of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations.

"The scientific basis for the need for regulation is indisputable. Research results clearly show that advertising works, it increases purchasing and consumer behavior and promotes children's preferences. It is now up to the political players to translate the science-based, target-oriented proposals from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture into a law so that children's health is not further crushed between the interests of the industry. It's time for the project to finally become a top priority in the Federal Chancellery and for Olaf Scholz to finally end the energy-sapping standstill," says Barbara Bitzer, spokesperson for the German Alliance for Non-Communicable Diseases (DANK) and DDG Managing Director.

"Energy drinks on TikTok and Instagram, Haribo advertising on TV, McDonald's posters outside schools: every day, parents have to fight against a billion-dollar industry that lures their children with perfidious marketing tricks. The omnipresent advertising for sugar bombs and fatty snacks has fatal health consequences. Chancellor Olaf Scholz must no longer stand idly by and watch as the FDP blocks effective advertising barriers to protect children's health. The Chancellor must put an end to the "Ampelzwist" and protect children's health with a strong law," explains Chris Methmann, Managing Director of foodwatch.

"Diet-related diseases are a key driver of the burden of disease in Germany. Effective measures to promote healthy eating are essential to ease the burden on social security systems. Of course, no single measure will make diet-related diseases disappear into thin air. However, expert organizations agree that effective rules to protect children from unhealthy advertising are an important component in the mix of instruments. The traffic light coalition should get its act together and finally get the Children's Food Advertising Act off the ground," emphasizes Dr. Carola Reimann, Chairwoman of the Board of the AOK-Bundesverband.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1182825/one-year-after-announcement-associations-warn-of-failure-of-the-children-s-food-advertising-act.html