Changes to the Advertising Codes: nutrition and health claims in food ads
30 October 2009
Today, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) revised its TV and Radio Advertising Standards Codes to ensure they do not conflict with the legal requirements of Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (NHCR). The NHCR is the first piece of legislation to deal specifically with nutrition and health claims made on foods and seeks to protect consumers from misleading or false claims. As a maximum harmonisation measure, the NHCR aims to ensure that consumers across the European Community receive the same level of protection by placing controls on the use of nutrition and health claims in the advertising, labelling and presentation of all foods, including drinks and food supplements.
In revising its Codes, BCAP has taken advice from the Food Standards Agency and taken account of responses to its public consultation. Because they reflect the law, which Ofcom-licensed TV and radio broadcasters must comply with, the changes to the Codes come into force with immediate effect.
You can find the updated codes on the CAP website and on the ASA website.
Because it is not required to consult, CAP revised its Code: The British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing on 19 January 2009 to help, at the soonest opportunity, the non-broadcast advertising industry to comply with the new legal provisions. At that time, CAP undertook to take into account changes that BCAP made as a result of its consultation.