GMA Disputes IWG Proposed Marketing Guidelines

Bailey: The IWG’s proposed nutrition standards are in direct conflict with established government food policy standards such as the USDA dietary guidelines and the school lunch program.

Oct 7 2011 --- The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has issued the following statement from Pamela G. Bailey, GMA president and CEO, on the Interagency Working Group’s proposed marketing restrictions:

“America’s food and beverage companies share First Lady Michelle Obama’s goal of solving obesity within a generation, and are committed to providing consumers with the products, tools and information they need to achieve and maintain a healthy diet.

“Through the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), they have also implemented robust, voluntary changes to child-directed marketing that have dramatically changed the marketing landscape in recent years.

“In July, the CFBAI announced a groundbreaking agreement to update and strengthen the CFBAI initiative with the adoption of uniform nutrition criteria for foods advertised to children, so that 100 percent of all foods marketed to children feature healthy product choices.  These changes are part of our industry’s constant effort to review our products and programs in an effort to keep pace with constantly changing consumer trends and nutrition science.

“The IWG’s proposed nutrition standards are in direct conflict with established government food policy standards such as the USDA dietary guidelines and the school lunch program.  They would effectively ban the advertising of 88 of the most 100 most popular foods consumed in America, including healthy foods such as cereals, soups and breads.

“In addition, an IWG ban on the advertising of foods and beverages would have a devastating impact on jobs. According to an independently conducted study by IHS Global Insight, the IWG’s proposals could cost 74,000 critical jobs across the food manufacturing and advertising industries, at a time when our economy can least afford it.

“The IWG should withdraw this proposal and start anew, weighing the consequences of its actions and conducting appropriate research. Without complete withdrawal of this proposal, the IWG will limit the information parents have in choosing healthy diets for their children and cost much-needed American jobs, with little evidence that it will have any impact on curbing obesity.”