For the association, children would be a little too tempted by the promotions of certain harmful products. Foodwatch consumer NGO called the supermarkets to work twice as hard to protect young people from marketing that sells them products that are too fatty, too sweet or too salty, by prohibiting “immediately advertising and fun marketing” for such products.
She sent a letter to various retail chains evoking the misdeeds of these products. Some supermarkets have replied that they have already taken restrictive measures, others are committed to them.
Between attractive packaging and dedicated advertising, food distribution has a “key role” to play in the face of the rise in overweight and obesity among children, says the NGO, which published on Wednesday a barometer relating to the marketing of these ” unhealthy products” targeting children. “Supermarkets play a major role in the content of our plates,” says Foodwatch.
One in six overweight children
One in six children in France is overweight or obese and a majority of them will remain so in adulthood, recalls the NGO. Distributors have made “serious and up to the challenge” commitments, promising to ban advertisements intended to appeal to children under 16, notes Foodwatch.
This is the case of Biocoop, which ensures that it does not produce “any advertising aimed at instrumentalizing children” as provided for in its “communication agreement” applicable to all the stores of the brand.
Lidl announced in January to stop advertising “unhealthy” foods targeting children and ban playful packaging for its own brands. Intermarché is committed to ensuring that all products with “children’s identity” have their recipes “improved”, according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Foodwatch, distributors Monoprix, Casino, Carrefour, Auchan, Leclerc and Système U “have timidly entered the race”, highlighting their efforts to improve their social responsibility but without responding directly “to the urgency of protecting children of this marketing.
None of the actions they presented include all of the nutritional recommendations of the WHO, according to the NGO. Other distributors have not responded to requests from the NGO, such as Aldi, Cora and Leader Price, indicates Foodwatch.
The NGO also says it continues to negotiate with supermarket chains deemed “hesitant” and “demanding regulatory measures” from the government. The WHO has been urging retailers for years to ban the marketing of junk food targeting those under 16, Foodwatch said.
