Current front-of-package labelling of children’s food products confuse and mislead parents

Over the past few months, the Prevention Institute - based in the US - worked on a study entitled "Claiming Health: Front-of-Package Labeling of Children’s Food", examining the nutritional content of children’s foods that feature front-of-package symbols.

In its new study, the Prevention Institute found that while the symbols are supposed to help shoppers identify healthier foods for their children, 84 percent of the studied products failed to meet basic nutritional standards and 95 percent contained added sugar. In addition, the study found that front-of-package labels confuse and mislead parents.

This new study follows on from "Where’s the fruit? Fruit Content of the Most Highly-Advertised Children’s Food and Beverages", a 2007 study that concluded that nearly half of the most heavily advertised children’s food products do not contain any actual fruit at all, despite the clear references to fruit on the packaging.

In addition, a video on marketing to kids was produced in the context of the "Claiming Health" study. "We’re Not Buying It" highlights the ways that food and beverage companies target kids with unhealthy foods while calling for support of federal guidelines for voluntary standards for the food marketed to children. The "We’re Not Buying It" video is available here.

Related EPHA articles:

 EPHA position paper on Food Labelling
 European Parliament plenary fails to protect the health of Europe’s most vulnerable through clear food labelling
 European Parliament plenary urged to protect the health of Europe’s most vulnerable through clear food labelling
 The Food Safety Authority of Ireland publishes its study on consumers’ attitudes to food labelling
 Towards regulating specialised food in the EU
 Designate Commissioner John Dalli: "I won’t tell consumers what to eat, but I’ll tell them what they’re eating"