The Federal Trade Commission has recently proposed national standards regarding food and beverages that are aimed at drawing in kids.
According to the commission, these foods should promote choices that are healthy for kids. The proposals were formulated by a group that has been charged by Congress to create guiding principles for the industry of processed food.
The proposals also intend to limit the advertisement of foods that have high sugar, saturated fat or sodium content. The proposals have been based on two principles. The first principle states that foods or beverages which are intended for kids should have a meaningful contribution to a healthy diet. Basically, these foods or beverages should contain either vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low fat products, nuts, beans and lean meats.
The second principle states that foods or beverages marketed to kids should contain fewer ingredients that have negative effects on children’s weight or health. To be more specific, these food or beverage items should contain less than 15% calories/Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACC) and only a gram (or less) of saturated fat. These food and beverage items should also contain less than 13 grams of sugars/RACC, 210 milligrams sodium/RACC and zero transfats/RACC.
The group also included that foods or beverages that are marketed to kids aged 2-17 years should strictly meet the proposed standards by the year 2016. Guidelines for the amount of sodium in processed food should also be improved in 2021. Jon Leibowitz, FTC Chairman, stated that the proposed principles will encourage the processed food industry to widen their current voluntary efforts.
Leave A Comment