WHO releases policy recommendations to protect children from the harmful effects of food marketing

Subject :Science and technology

Section: Health

Context:

The World Health Organization (WHO) released July 3, 2023 new guidelines on shaping policies to protect children from the harmful impacts of food marketing that promote unhealthy dietary choices.

WHO initiative:

In March 2023,WHO published a set of nutritional criteria which aimed to protect children from marketing that promoted unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The WHO Europe nutrient profile model helped in the classification of food products to determine whether they are healthy enough to be advertised to children.

WHO Guidelines and Recommendations:

The guidelines build on the 2010 WHO ‘Set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children’ and take into consideration more recent evidence specific to children and to the context of food marketing.
The guideline recommends the implementation of comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt (HFSS).
- There has been limited national action and children continue to be exposed to marketing for HFSS foods.
Policies should include the country’s nutritional situation, cultural context, locally available foods, dietary customs, available resources and capacities, and existing governance structures andmechanisms among others.
WHO recommended mandatory regulation of marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, having previously made more allowances for a range of policy approaches.
Another change is the guideline’s use of the definition of a child from the Convention on the Rights of the Child to be unequivocal that policies should protect all children.
The guideline called for countries to use a nutrient profile model and adopt policies comprehensive enough to minimise intra- and inter-medium migration to avoid restrictions on marketing in regulated channels or settings.

Food marketing:

The most frequently marketed food categories were fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages, chocolate and confectionery, salty and savoury snacks, sweet bakery items and snacks, breakfast cereals and desserts.
Evidence showed that food marketing mainly promoted HFSS foods.
Food marketing was prevalent in places such as schools and sports clubs where children gather; during children’s television viewing times; in digital spaces popular among young people and in magazines targeting children and adolescents.
New marketing media have also evolved, most notably digital marketing, which poses a growing concern.
Research and studies show that the marketing of HFSS foods remains pervasive and persuasive across the globe.

Unhealthy Food as global public health risk:

Unhealthy diets are a leading cause of global public health risk contributing to undernutrition, micronutrient-related malnutrition, overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCD).
According to a survey ‘Know your diet-School children survey’ conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE):
- Most school children were not eating a balanced diet, with about 66 per cent of children having a low frequency of intake of cereals and millets.
- Around 45 per cent of children had a low frequency of intake of vegetables.
- The packaged food was more popular among children than non-packaged food and around 53 per cent children consumed packaged food or beverages at least once a day.

What are the 7 Key Processes that FSSAI Follow?

What is FSSAI?

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act).
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the administrative Ministry of FSSAI.
Headquarters: Delhi.

What are the Functions of FSSAI?

Framing of regulations to lay down the standards and guidelines of food safety.
Granting FSSAI food safety license and certification for food businesses.
Laying down procedures and guidelines for laboratories in food businesses.
To provide suggestions to the government in framing the policies.
To collect data regarding contaminants in food products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
Creating an information network across the country about food safety.
Promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.