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Major food and drink corporations show signs of responsibility toward children: Report

The Daily News (Nanaimo)
Wed Jul 15 2009
Page: A9
Section: Business
Byline: Meagan Fitzpatrick
Source: Canwest News Service

Canada's big-name food and drink companies are meeting their commitments to advertise less to children and to promote more nutritious products and an active lifestyle when they do target youth, according to a compliance report from Advertising Standards Canada.

All 16 companies that voluntarily signed on to the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative met or exceeded the pledges made when the program launched in 2007.

The compliance report, released Tuesday, covers 2008 -- the first full year of the initiative -- and provides evaluations on each company.

"We expected that compliance would be high and it was, and then they also exceeded the original requirements of the program when it was first announced," said Janet Feasby, vice-president of ASC, which oversees the program.

Heavyweight companies -- including Coca-Cola Ltd., Hershey Canada Inc., Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., Janes Family Foods Ltd., Mars Canada Inc., McCain Foods (Canada), PepsiCo Canada ULC, and Unilever Canada Inc. -- all kept their promise to not engage in direct advertising to children under 12 years old, according to Tuesday's report.

The other eight companies -- Campbell Company of Canada, General Mills Canada Corporation, Kellogg Canada Inc., Kraft Canada Inc., McDonald's, Nestle Canada Inc., Parmalat Canada and Weston Bakeries Limited -- committed to devote 100% of their advertising aimed at children to promoting healthier choices and an active lifestyle -- doubling the program's original requirement of 50%.

The products they do advertise had to meet specific nutrition criteria to qualify as healthier choices and each company also had to explain how they define advertising directed to children under 12.

Coca-Cola's definition, for example, considers it advertising to children when the users of the medium carrying the message are substantially or solely directed at children, or when the message is presented in such a way that it appeals directly to children, or, when a television commercial appears during, before or after a program that is targeted at children.

The nutrition criteria also varies by company.

The guidelines that McDonald's uses meant the only brand it advertised directly to children last year was its Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal with milk and apple slices.

McDonald's has also changed the way it uses its famous Ronald McDonald mascot in advertising and the red-headed clown character now promotes an active lifestyle, not hamburgers and fries.

"The program was intended to shift the landscape of advertising to children and I certainly believe it's doing that," she said.

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