Cartoon ‘baddies’ not helping child obesity, says Which?

2nd October 2008, 2:39pm

Which? has today labelled cartoon characters such as Tony the Tiger, Pom-Bear, Moo the Dairylea cow and Snap, Crackle and Pop as cartoon baddies after their research found they were promoting ‘unhealthy’ foods.

According to Which? out of 19 children's food company cartoon favourites, not a single character promoted only healthier products.

Clare Corbett, Which? Food Campaigner said: "Cartoons are great fun for kids. We definitely don't want to see the end of popular characters like Tony the Tiger and the Honey Monster, but we do want to see them promoting healthier products.

"Food companies must play their part in the fight against childhood obesity and diet-related disease by acting responsibly. Going back to the drawing board and closing the cartoon loophole in their self-regulatory CAP and BCAP codes is a vital step in tackling this complex issue. If the industry fails to act, the Government must step in."

But the Food and Drink Federation hit back saying the industry does work hard to promote healthy food for kids and that more credit needs to be given to food and drink companies.

Director of communications, Julian Hunt said: "We are baffled as to why Which? wants to take all the fun out of food by banning popular brand characters, many of whom have been adding colour to supermarket shelves for more than 80 years.

"As the Which? report says itself, the BCAP and CAP codes have placed strict restrictions on marketing, such as on the use of popular characters like Shrek, and are independently policed. Besides, many of the products mentioned in this report have changed their recipes in recent years to be healthier – something for which they never get any credit."

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