In France, one in six children is overweight or obese and a majority of them will remain so in adulthood. Faced with this fact, Foodwatch has called on supermarkets to act to protect children from marketing that sells them products that are too fatty, too sweet or too salty. The consumer defense NGO wants to “immediately ban and playful marketing” for such products.
Foodwatch has thus sent a letter to various retail chains evoking the harmful effects of these products. Some supermarkets have replied that they have already taken restrictive measures, others are committed to them.
“Serious” commitments of certain distributors
Between attractive packaging and dedicated , 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 this Wednesday a barometer relating to the marketing of these “unhealthy products” targeting children. 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 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 “unhealthy” foods targeting children and ban playful packaging for its own brands. For its part, 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).
Efforts still to be made for others
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.