• July 7, 2011

The food and advertising industries are rooting for passage of a new clause in a House appropriations bill, inserted by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), which would stop any funding for the food-marketing-to-children guidelines proposed earlier this year by the FTC and other government agencies comprising an Interagency Working Group (IWG) until the IWG does a cost/benefits study.

However, while the bill might pass the House, it could be stopped in the Democratic-conrolled Senate or by a veto by President Obama.

The battle continues to rage over the guidelines, which would be voluntary rather than under regulation, and would encourage food makers to advertise only products that meet specific nutritional guidelines to children between 2 and 17.

The IWG and proponents maintain the guidelines will help stem the childhood obesity epidemic and encourage food makers to make their formulations for kid-oriented foods more healthful over time.

Food and advertising industry groups maintain that the guidelines are not really voluntary (that non-compliance would result in pressure on companies relating to regulated areas of advertising, for example); that there is no evidence that the guidelines will result in the benefits cited for their implementation; that the guidelines violate freedom of speech; and that they will undermine the food industry and the economy.