Thu, Feb-22-24, 01:57
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Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: UK
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Majority of food giants’ profit in UK comes from junk food
Quote:
Majority of food giants’ profit in UK comes from junk food
Companies are responsible for 90 per cent of online advertising spending on chocolate, crisps, biscuits and ice cream
Seven of the top ten global food manufacturers made more than two thirds of their food and drink sales in Britain from unhealthy products, a study by Oxford University has found.
The businesses are responsible for more than 90 per cent of online advertising spending in this country on chocolate, crisps, biscuits and ice cream, with many promoted to children.
The biggest manufacturers spent a total of £55 million on online adverts for food and drink products associated with childhood obesity in 2022. Almost £41 million was spent on chocolate, £9 million on crisps, £3 million on biscuits and £2 million on ice cream ads.
Seventy per cent of the global giants use packaging for unhealthy food that appears designed to appeal to children. This includes cartoon characters and products shaped like toys or animals.
One company, Ferrero — which owns Nutella, Tic Tac, Fox’s biscuits and Kinder Surprise — has a mission statement that promises to craft “much-loved products in an ethical and socially conscious manner”. However, 100 per cent of its sales were made up of foods high in fat, sugar or salt in 2022. Several of its products seem to be aimed at children, including Happy Hippos and Kinder products that contain toys.
Mondelez — whose brands include Cadbury, Ritz, Dairylea and Oreo — declares on its website that its corporate “purpose” is to “empower people to snack right”. Yet it sold £2.8 billion worth of unhealthy products in a year, making up 98 per cent of its sales. Many are covered in cartoons and its Oreo cereal urges families to start the day with a “playful twist”.
The study also examines sales data from Unilever, which owns Marmite, Hellmann’s and Cornetto; Kellogg’s, which markets Coco Pops, Froot Loops and Pringles as well as Corn Flakes; and Nestle.
The research, commissioned by Bite Back, a charity founded by the chef Jamie Oliver, reinforces the conclusions of The Times Health Commission. The final report of the year-long inquiry recommended curbs on the marketing of junk food to children and an expansion of the sugar tax to tackle a growing obesity crisis.
Almost a third of British adults are obese and almost a quarter of children are obese or overweight by the time they start school.
The study has been seized on by a group of teenage activists who want to highlight the threat of unhealthy food in the way that Greta Thunberg has raised awareness of climate change. They have written to the chief executives of the top ten global companies, calling on them to stop targeting children and, they say, putting profit before the nation’s health.
“It should be easy to grow up healthy in the UK but as teens we can tell you, it’s not,” they warn the corporate bosses. “We can’t think of a single moment of our lives that your brands haven’t crept into. They fill our social media feeds, exploit the popularity of the influencers and athletes we look up to and pour off the shelves of supermarkets and newsagents.”
Alice Mazon, 18, co-chairwoman of the London Youth Board, described how when she got her GCSE results she was congratulated by Domino’s Pizza before her mother. “The food system that we’re currently living under is working against us,” she said.
The Oxford University researchers analysed 241 packaged food and drink brands and more than 5,000 products, based on 2022 data. They identified the top ten food and drink manufacturers by looking at the global businesses with highest sales of packaged food and drinks in the UK.
James Toop, the chief executive of Bite Back, said Britain was “sleep walking into a preventable health crisis” and industry and government both needed to act. “Our research shows that while food companies say they are part of the solution, in reality their business model is based on successfully promoting unhealthy food to children.”
Lord Bethell of Romford, the former Conservative health minister, said the global food giants were locked in a “desperate corporate race to the bottom” that was undermining the nation’s health.
“Chocolate cereals lining the supermarket shelves are the latest high-sugar weapon of choice in this battle for the British breakfast table,” he said. “The leadership, shareholders and governance of these companies need to take a hard look at themselves. The health of our children and our country is at stake.”
Sir Patrick Vallance, the former government chief scientist, said there was a “social responsibility” on businesses to curb the marketing of unhealthy food to young people. “I don’t think this is about becoming draconian — it’s to recognise that we’ve got an out of control system where this is so prevalent and so influential on what people are doing that it needs to be reined back. We know that as children are growing they are very influenced by external factors and this is a continuous and very deliberate marketing to affect children’s choices and that has potential lifelong consequences.”
Mondelez International insisted most of its products were enjoyed as treats, saying: “We recognise the seriousness and scale of the public health challenge and have been playing our part for many years, focusing on the areas where we know we can make the greatest impact: portion control, reformulation, consumer awareness and education.”
A spokesman for Ferrero said more than 90 per cent of its products came in portions of less than 150 calories: “As a responsible company, we believe the best way we can help support our consumers is to offer our products in small, individually-wrapped portions with clear nutritional labelling and support with education on how to enjoy our products as part of a balanced lifestyle.”
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...ssion-wq9tg02cn |
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