§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to introduce restrictions on the advertisement of food products during children's television scheduling; [134840]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of television advertisements for (a) high fat, (b) high salt and (c) high sugar products on the health of children. [134839]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe regulation of advertising is the responsibility of Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently published a review on the promotion of foods to children, which concludes that
… this review provides sufficient evidence to show that food promotion can and is having an effect on children, particularly in the areas of food preferences, purchase behaviour and consumption.Food is more commonly advertised to children than adults and the foods that are advertised tend to be high in fat, salt and/or added sugars. The majority of children's diets do not meet current dietary recommendations.
We very much welcome the thorough FSA review. The detailed report is receiving careful consideration. The FSA is holding a wider stakeholder meeting to discuss the implications of the research. We strongly encourage industry to act responsibly when promoting foods, particularly to children.
520WWe are committed to improving the diets of children and have a range of action in place, including the reform of the Welfare Food Scheme, action within schools (such as the Food in Schools Programme), the Five-a-day Programme, including the National School Fruit Scheme and work with industry to address sugar, fat and salt levels in the diet (working with the FSA).