Food for thought

07 September 2005

On 27 July, the Food Standards Agency (FSA)  launched its second consultation on nutrient profiling (NP) and we arranged for the FSA that afternoon to explain its NP work to those members of CAP and BCAP and the latter’s Advertising Advisory Committee (AAC) who both wanted to and could attend.  Food marketers have until 26 September to respond to the consultation and we urge all those companies involved in the food industry to do so, either themselves or through their trade associations.

Much of the FSA’s work has been of a scientific nature that perhaps only a food technologist could follow but all food marketers should be aware of the NP work because it will directly influence the forthcoming OFCOM consultation on how the radio and TV advertising of food to children should be restricted to help solve some of the problems identified in the Government’s Health of the Nation White Paper.

OFCOM has conducted some excellent research on food advertising and published it in July 2004 as Childhood Obesity: Food Advertising in Context.  Since then, OFCOM has discussed extensively with various stakeholders, including BCAP, and we now expect it to start its consultation some time in November.  OFCOM will outline the ways in which food advertisers might restrict their ads and will propose a way it believes that should be done.  BCAP and its members and the trade associations and many companies connected with the food and broadcasting industries have done much to try to ensure OFCOM’s proposals are practical and proportionate.  That includes a BCAP submission to OFCOM on the way it believes the BCAP Advertising Standards Codes should be altered to take into account the concerns about food advertising and children.

But, although OFCOM will propose changes to the BCAP Codes, the consultation proposals are OFCOM’s, not BCAP’s.  BCAP’s Codes are the industry’s codes, your codes; and it will be important for all those connected with the broadcast advertising of food to respond fully to OFCOM’s consultation so that industry opinion is fully considered before OFCOM announces the results in the Spring of 2007. 

BCAP will respond to the OFCOM consultation, after taking advice from the AAC, and so will many BCAP members.  We urge all our readers in the food and broadcasting industries to give their opinion on the consultation proposals, too: OFCOM’s work will directly affect your commercial interests. 

So, plan ahead and book some time in your diaries for December or January: the end of the consultation period will be upon you sooner than you think.