by Marion Nestle
May 31 2010

CSPI’s report card on food marketing policies (or the lack thereof)

I’m late in getting to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s report on food companies’ policies on marketing to children.  The report is in the form of a report card.  Most companies get very bad grades.  Mars gets the best (a B+) mainly because it has a policy.  Most don’t.

The report says nothing about whether the policies are working.  Based on past experience, I’d guess they are not.  But don’t they look great on paper?

Here’s the Chicago Tribune’s take on this.

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  • Pete

    Mars gets a b+?!?!? Don’t they make M&Ms? You know the candy with an entire line of kids toys featuring characters that ARE the candy itself? And Kraft?? The ones that have been selling processed cheese food to kids as the same as 2 servings of milk for decades? Not for nuthin’ CSPI is full of it. Maybe its because they don’t pay well, but they hardly attract the best and brightest. In fact, what CSPI does in the name of HEALTH can be even more detrimental to the public. In the same vein of asking Americans to lower fat intake and subsequently spawning massive overconsumption of grains and sugar, CSPI is so anti-meat eating that they fail to even look at the negative implications of Soy… which they suggest as an alternative protein source.

  • Brian

    By happenstance, I was watching the Nick, Jr channel, where a commercial for Lucky Charms touted its Whole Grains and Calcium as being good for kids. Of course, nary a mention of everything unhealthy. Way to go, General Mills!

  • Pete

    Thats nothing! I saw a commercial for Pop Tarts this morning advocating STICKING THEM IN ICE CREAM!!! And the Pop-Tarts tagline… Made For Fun. More like MaKING Type II Diabetics!