European Community Of Consumer Cooperatives Consumer empowerment and responsible advertising Aude L hirondel, Food Policy Officer alh@eurocoop.org Workshop on best practices, 29 October 2004
Three step presentation Grassroots activities to empower consumers Best practices on responsible advertising Policy recommendations Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 1
A matter of individual responsibility? Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 2
Why consumer empowerment? Health is, to a great extent, determined by individual choices, Commissioner Byrne, July 2004 HOWEVER, for many of Europeans, especially the most vulnerable to poor health, choice is often an illusion (Mc Kee and Belcher, Eurohealth, 09.2004) Consumer choices are frequently constrained Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 3
Advertising v. health promotion UK: 1 from the Health Education Authority v. 800 from the food industry to promote products(the UK House of Commons Health Committee) 95% of this 800 contributes towards weight gain Imbalance between commercially driven information and health promotion information Need to enable people to make healthy choices Consumer empowerment is KEY Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 4
Consumer Cooperatives Practice Promotion of a balanced diet Definition: Overall dietary pattern of foods consumed that provide all essential ingredients in the appropriate amounts (e.g. growth in children without promoting excess weight gain Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables Reduced alcohol consumption Promotion of physical activity importance of families eating together Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 5
Portuguese Consumer Cooperative Bad foods or bad diets? Danish Consumer Cooperative Foods and drinks high in calories and low in nutrients should be avoided. Need to limit the intake of specific ingredients. Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 6
Main channels used Activities with schools and teachers, educational leaflets Education material for workers Grassroot activities Free Magazines on diet and nutrition for consumers Web-based based material about nutrition and healthy eating Devising healthy consumer recipes; help-lines Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 7
Grassroot activities in Denmark Consumer Jungle ¾ 170 different cities (as of 15.10.04) ¾ Visited by more than 20.000 Danish consumers Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 8
Education in Spain Training sessions for adults Children education Health, nutrition and sport Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 9
Materials about nutrition and healthy eating Free Magasines and web-materials Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 10
Responsible children advertising? High children exposure to commercial promotion Great majority promotes the Big Five : pre- sugared breakfast cereals, soft-drinks, confectionary and savoury snacks, fast food outlets (UK FSA Report, Does Food Promotion Influence Children? A Systematic Review of the Evidence." ) TV advertising encourages children to eat unhealthy diet Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 11
Consumer cooperative Practice in the UK Since 2000, voluntary ban on advertising of fatty, sugary and salty food to children during children viewing hours Same policy for press advertising Call on the Independent Television Commission to impose a ban No free samples of fatty, sugar and salt products Removal of all children s characters from own brand packaging high in fat, sugar or salt Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 12
Policy recommendations EU to develop a European Strategy which will, inter alia: Make healthy eating choices a reality; Emphasize consumer empowerment; Review and assessment of existing codes of practices and/or regulations on advertising of food; Encourage social marketing. Workshop on best practices, 29.10.04 13
This paper was produced for a meeting organized by Health & Consumer Protection DG and represents the views of its author on the subject. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or Health & Consumer Protection DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.