As reported today by Felix Lobo, president of the "Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition" (AESAN) that depends on the Ministry of Health, almost a third of the advertising spaces that sold food for children under thirteen, were rejected or had to be modified before publication or broadcast on television.
Apparently, the reason was that the form or content of these ads were considered deceptive or unethical. These advertising spaces are governed by the rules of the "Self-regulation Code of Food advertising aimed at minors" (PAOS code), which has been in operation for more than two years, and which also has the collaboration of more than 90 per One hundred of the companies that manufacture baby food. Most of the ads have breached the same rule, which turns out to be to include in the advertisement the figure of a famous person or a fictional character (such as cartoons) to sell the product, which is considered unethical since The food is sold as a result of who uses it and not of its nutritional characteristics.
Another rule is that a child cannot be shown in the ad asking some of his parents to buy him a certain product. If you look at the current television ads, there are some brands of chocolate that fail to comply because they are not associated with this code.
Since September 2005, 976 inquiries from different companies about their ads have been resolved, of which 21 percent needed to be modified to be issued and 6 percent, completely withdrawn, which the president of this company considered a very balance positive. He considers that the current announcements are more educational and with less pressure on the minor, than those that existed three years ago without this regulation.
Via | Europa press
