U.S. food marketers score high in uniform nutrition criteria compliance

Last December, the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) issued a report summarising its progress and compliance assessment of 17 U.S. food companies who have agreed to use uniform nutrition standards for the products they advertise to children a few years back. The report found that during 2014 %u2013 the first full year under the new standards %u2013 these companies have virtually always met the commitments they have made.

For the report, CFBAI monitored more than 4,000 ads on children's media. According to Maureen Enright, CFBAI's Deputy Director, "overall compliance was outstanding. Occasionally, we found that an ad for a food that did not meet CFBAI's nutrition criteria had aired on child-directed programming or in digital media, and each time our participant promptly addressed the issue. The companies work hard to maintain systems and procedures to ensure their ad buys on children's media are only for foods that meet CFBAI's nutrition criteria."

The 17 companies that participated in CFBAI in 2014 are among the country's leading consumer packaged goods companies and quick-serve restaurants, and represent the majority of food advertising on children's programming.

About CFBAI

The Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) is a voluntary advertising self-regulation programme administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and comprised of USA's largest food and beverage companies. This initiative is designed to shift the mix of foods advertised to children under 12 to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles.

For more information, contact CFBAI.