NEWS ARCHIVE

Global report launched

20 October 2008: Consumers International launched a new report on the marketing of breakfast cereals aimed at children.

Cereal Offences - A wake-up call on the marketing of unhealthy food to children  reveals the unhealthy ingredients in some of the world’s most popular children’s cereals and the relentless marketing techniques to promote them.

The study found that the salt content in Kellogg’s Rice Krispies in Hong Kong matched that of seawater.

Sugar levels differ from country to country, but in many products the levels exceed the sugar content of iced doughnuts, ice cream or cookies.

The report is also available in Spanish: Cereales Peligrosos

Below you can find national reports that are available online.

Belgium - Test-Achats / Test- Aankoop
Céréales du petit déjeuner/ Ontbijtgranen

Brazil - Pro Teste
Saudável desde cedo e para sempre

China - Consumer Council Hong Kong
Children's Breakfast Cereals

Germany - Stiftung Warentest
Frühstückscerealien: Zu viel Zucker

Iceland - Consumers Association of Iceland
Nammidagar alla daga

Italy – Altroconsumo
Pubblicità che ingrassa

Netherlands - Consumentenbond
Kinderontbijtgranen: snoep als ontbijt
Note: This report was published in June 2008

New Zealand – Consumer NZ
Children's breakfast cereal

Norway - Forbruker-rapporten
Test av frokostblandinger for bar

Portugal - DECO PROTESTE
Crianças e Alimentaçã

Spain - OCU
La alimentación de los niños

Sweden - Råd & Rön
Frukostflingor för barn

Switzerland - Fédération romande des consommateurs
Céréales pour enfants: Petit déjeuner trop sucré

UK – Which?
Children's Cereal

The Junk Food Trap

4 September 2008: A new report by Consumers International (CI) demonstrates the extent of junk food marketing to kids in the Asia Pacific region.   

The Junk Food Trap reveals how major international brands such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, KFC, McDonalds, PepsiCo and Nestlé are using a persuasive array of techniques to influence the food preferences of pre-teen and teenage consumers.

CI member organisations in Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand took a look at the six big companies and found out that they ignore national legislation and unscrupulously market their unhealthy products to children.

Download the report and read more about how multinational food companies influence the food preferences of pre-teen and teenage consumers.

World Health Assembly (WHA) 2008 - Geneva

19-24 May 2008: Following World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2008, CI takes the demands for action from people around the world to the WHA and lobbies against the aggressive marketing of unhealthy food to children. 

Government delegates will be asked to adopt CI's Code as part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) strategy to tackle obesity and diet-related diseases.

The CI delegation represents countries such as Kenya, Belgium, Thailand, Argentina, UK and Australia.

Boost to campaign from Nobel peace prize winner

The Junk Food Generation campaign got a major boost at the WHA.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu mentioned CI in his speech to a packed assembly hall which included representatives from delegations from all around the world, other NGOs, industry and WHO staff including Director General Margaret Chan. 

He cited childhood obesity as a major global problem.

You can read his speech here.   

Food and drink  industry at WHA

The food and beverage industry have been using the opportunity of the WHA to push self-regulation.

While voluntary measures announced by Coca Cola, Pepsi and other soft drink manufacturers are a step in the right direction, these do not go far enough.

The proposals put forward on behalf of Coke and Pepsi fail to address key parental concerns such as the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV before 9pm, protection of all children under 16, and the use of celebrities to market unhealthy food.

CI is also concerned that these latest proposals only cover the soft beverage industry and not the other major food companies.

CI is campaigning for globally agreed restrictions that hold the entire food and drink industry to account, not for piecemeal self-regulation.

World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2008

Lunchbox challenges, a roadshow and a storybook...

All around the world CI member organisations continues to ask their national governments to take action on marketing food to childrenon WCRD. 

Watch this video of the Hong Kong Consumer Council holding a lunchbox challenge on WCRD.

 

Watch all the lunchbox challenges! 

For more information visit Consumers International. 

World Health Organization (WHO) Regions

Western-Pacific

September 2007: Consumers Korea represented the consumer movement at the WHO regional meeting of the Western-Pacific region and advocated for a commitment to stop the childhood obesity epidemic.

Soon after, the regional Director-General Dr Omi issued a press release calling for more work to be done on combating “lifestyle diseases” and included the private sector in his call to action.

Eastern Mediterranean

October 2007: Consumers Lebanon successfully lobbied the WHO regional committee of the Eastern Mediterranean to introduce regulations on the marketing of food to children.

A very positive resolution was passed issuing a strong message to member states to introduce regulations on marketing of food to protect children and teenagers.

Europe

September 2007: Which? from the UK represented CI and endorsed the Second WHO European Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Policy 2007 – 2012.

This is an important document that lists a whole range of measures to be adopted to improve health in Europe.

Crucially it includes “ensuring appropriate marketing practices” as a top priority and says this should be achieved by “regulations or other proven methods.”