• September 14, 2011

Opponents of the voluntary guidelines for marketing food to children put forward by the Interagency Working Group (IWG) comprised of four federal government agencies have elicited the support of key Congressional leaders in calling for the proposal to be withdrawn until a more complete study is conducted.

In support of opponents including the Association of National Advertisers and food/beverage/restaurant opponents, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and 21 other House members have sent a letter to the heads of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintaining that the IWG's recommendations are insufficiently researched, and that its proposal is not backed by evidence that implementation would reduce childhood obesity.

The opponents ask that IWG answer various questions about its methodology and conclusions by Sept. 27, and call on the IWG to withdraw its current proposal and conduct a study that opponents maintain would be more in line with what was initially required by Congress.