U.S. stalls in Push to Limit Ads food for children

Lucky Charms. Froot Loops. Cocoa Pebbles. A ConAgra frozen dinner with a corn dog and fries. McDonald's Happy Meals.

These foods can make a nutritionist cringe, but all have been identified by food businesses as healthy choices, they can advertise to children under a three-year initiative by the food industry to fight against childhood obesity.

Now, a ruthless effort by the federal government to establish more stringent standards that advertising promoting healthier products became deadlocked over the opposition of the industry and deep divisions among regulators.

A report to Congress for several federal agencies - which should include strict definitions for the kinds of nutritional foods that could be advertised to children is delayed, and officials say it could take months before it is ready . Some advocates fear the delay could result in a position to be stripped of its toughest provisions.

"Suddenly, everything is dead in the water," said Dale Kunkel, a communications professor at the University of Arizona, who is an expert in advertising to children. "I have not heard argument to slow this decline other than industry does not like. "

The requirements to be included in the review and a preliminary proposal by the agencies: the grain could have only eight grams of sugar per serving, much less than many grains that are heavily advertising to children (Lucky Charms and Cocoa Pebbles have 11 grams and Froot Loops has 12). The level of saturated fat is so low that it excludes peanut butter. And to qualify for the publicity, all foods must contain significant amounts of healthy ingredients like whole grains, milk, low fat, fruit or vegetables.

Critics have long complained that the standards used by food manufacturers to identify healthy foods appropriate for advertising to children are flawed, advertisements for foods high in calories, fat, sugar and salt is a important part of the ritual Saturday morning television. The Obama administration, as part of its campaign against childhood obesity, has also urged food companies to do more to ensure that advertising to children to healthier products.

The federal government's involvement has made a step forward last year, when Congress ordered the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Agriculture Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend standards for advertising of foods to children.

The bodies of the preliminary proposal published in December. It was much more severe than many have expected, supporters applauded, but the industries of Foods and gave a quick thumbs-down.

"The proposal was extremely restrictive and virtually stopped all advertising on food as it is currently for children under 18 years," said Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of government regulations of the Association of National Advertisers, which represents companies that advertise their products.

Mr. Jaffe said he saw the delay in submitting the final report to Congress as a good sign, suggesting that changes were underway.

The report was done last week. Betsy Lordan, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, said she could not predict when it would be over. She said the agencies first communicated its plan for public comment before submitting it to Congress.

The preliminary proposal for large-scale - and the resistance it meets - seem to have put agencies in a deadlock and divisions created between them, with federal officials who want to step back and take a more measured approach.

Restrictions on advertising are problematic in any case, largely due to freedom of expression issues.

To avoid a showdown, the Federal Trade Commission said it wanted the food industry and advertising to voluntarily accept the changes. But the preliminary proposal must be substantially modified to have the support of the industry - and such changes would undoubtedly lead to accusations that the government had backtracked under pressure.

"With obesity rates as they are, it is no more acceptable for companies marketing food to children that contribute to obesity and heart disease and other health problems," he Margo G. Wootan said, policy director of the Nutrition Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. http://jodnet.blogspot.com

Amid the discussion of issues related to the effort of the industry to take action on its own initiative to improve the way it does of food advertising to children.

The effort, called for the infant and beverage Advertising Initiative, began in mid-2007 and now includes 16 major companies representing about three-quarters of the food and beverage advertising on television for children.

Under the initiative, which is run by the Better Business Bureau, each company establishes criteria for nutritional food it considers appropriate to advertise.

The companies agree to submit only foods that meet these criteria in the ads that appear during programming aimed primarily at children under 12 as of Saturday morning cartoons or certain time slots on the Nickelodeon network. The commitment also applies to some print advertising and Web sites aimed at young children.

But critics say the nutritional standards businesses have chosen are too loose.

Kellogg standards allow it to advertise cereals that are high in sugar, such as Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, for young children. They also provide marketing for a candy called Yogos, which has sugar as the main ingredient.

Celeste A. Clark, senior vice president of global nutrition at Kellogg, said in an e-mail that the cereal company provided nutrients children need. Asked why candy qualified as a healthy choice for children, Dr. Clark said: "We believe that balance and moderation of all foods can be part of their diet."

McDonald's and Burger King ads to justify their children Happy Meals and Meals pledging to show versions of low-calorie meals in the ads. These include slices of apple instead of French fries and low fat milk or fruit juice instead of soda. But critics point out that images of these products are often fleeting in ads that focus movie tie-ins and gifts of toys, and that children do not realize they are encouraged to choose because they are healthier.

McDonald's said in a statement: "Any fair and objective review of our menu and the actions we have taken will prove that we were responsible, we are committed to their well-being, and we will continue to do more."

Elaine D. Kolish, director of the industry initiative, said the program had improved the types of food recommended in advertising aimed at children and that companies have reformulated dozens of products to reduce sugar, salt and calories.

Four participants in the program, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Hershey and Mars have agreed not to target any advertising to children under 12.

Ms. Kolish said the initiative had received more rigorous, with companies increasing the types of campaigns covered include things like computer games and mobile phone ads.

"This is moving the needle," she said. 'We're not saying things are perfect yet. There are still room for more growth, but it made a difference. "