Category: Other Developments
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Advertising Standards Board Upholds Children’s Marketing Complaint Against Cereal Maker
The Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC) recently announced that the Australian Advertising Standards Board (ASB) has upheld its complaint alleging that a TV commercial for Kellogg Co.’s Coco Pops® cereal violated the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative (RCMI). According to ASB’s case report, the advertisement under review featured a bowl of Coco Pops® playing “Marco Polo” in…
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UK Alcohol Charity Calls for Advertising Restrictions
Alcohol Concern, a U.K. charity “working on alcohol issues,” has issued a report titled “Stick to the Facts” that claims “[a]dvertisers exploit weak rules to develop content that appeals to both adults and young people. Audience thresholds limiting the percentage of minors insufficiently shield those underage. Children and young people in the UK aged 10-15…
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Nickelodeon Responds to Request to Curb Food Marketing to Children
Nickelodeon and its parent company Viacom have purportedly declined to change their advertising policies after four senators penned a June 10, 2013, letter asking the network to further limit the food and beverage commercials shown during children’s TV programming. “As an entertainment company, Nickelodeon’s primary mission is to make the highest quality entertainment content in…
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Chipotle to List GM Ingredients on Website
Chipotle Mexican Grill has reportedly become the first fast-food chain to disclose the ingredients it uses that contain genetically modified (GM) organisms. The list of items containing GM ingredients is currently available only on the company’s website and includes barbacoa beef, chicken, fajita vegetables, brown and white rice, steak, and tortillas. According to its website,…
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AMA Votes to Define Obesity as Disease, Ban Energy Drink Marketing to Children and End SNAP Eligibility for Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates has formally adopted three new resolutions at its 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, that aim to define obesity as a disease, prohibit the marketing of energy drinks to adolescents younger than age 18, and end the eligibility of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…
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Scientists Recommend Inclusion of Glycemic Index on Food Labels
An international group of nutrition scientists has recommended that the quality of carbohydrates in foods as measured by their glycemic index (GI) should be included in national dietary guidelines and on food labels. Drafted during the International Scientific Consensus Summit on Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load and Glycemic Response held June 6-7, 2013, in Stresa, Italy,…
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Cantaloupe Producers Launch Food Safety Program
The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board (CCAB) has launched a new food-safety program that requires government audits of all cantaloupe production activities. Described by CCAB as “the only mandatory food-safety program that requires government audits of all cantaloupe production activities,” the program invites government auditors to inspect all aspects of operations including growing, harvesting, packing, and cooling…
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OECD Issues Survey Summary on Regulatory Oversight of Nanotechnology in Foods
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a summary of survey results pertaining to the regulatory framework in 12 countries that provide oversight of nanotechnology in food and medical products. Conducted in 2011-2012, the survey addressed (i) “the regulatory frameworks being used to provide oversight for the use of nanotechnology in the relevant…