Never mind a kid, even our junk food loving art editor wouldn't touch the 'Ofcom Club 100' sandwich we created this week (see p36). No surprise, really. Half a tub of marge, half a large pot of Marmite, eight slices of ham, half a pack of cheese. No-one would eat that.
Nonetheless, measured in such absurd proportions, all these health-giving ingredients are banned from being advertised to children. They are innocent victims of the ludicrous Nutrient Profiling Model developed for Ofcom by the Food Standards Agency.
As readers of last week's issue will have seen, The Grocer is calling for a review of this model by FSA and Ofcom, in a campaign we've called Weigh It Up!
The response - from celebrity chefs, leading children's dieticians, food writers and the media has been great (see p6). If you haven't already signed up to support us, please go to www.thegrocer.co.uk for more details.
One of the highlights of the week was going on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday to demonstrate what a 100g bowl of Bran Flakes looked like and explaining other absurdities of the model.
And what of the response from the FSA? Predictably, it figured attack was the best form of defence. The FSA told BBC Breakfast viewers that it was not surprising we were calling for a ban as "The Grocer has a constituency that it answers to" (And see the FSA's letter on p30). Talk about junk!
Let me repeat what I said in this column last week. Weigh It Up! is not a campaign to stop the junk food advertising ban. Our argument is that, if there is to be a ban, make it a ban only on junk food and not on cheese, raisins, honey, All-Bran, Marmite and other products that, served in normal portions, are nutritious, health-giving and good for kids.
Nonetheless, measured in such absurd proportions, all these health-giving ingredients are banned from being advertised to children. They are innocent victims of the ludicrous Nutrient Profiling Model developed for Ofcom by the Food Standards Agency.
As readers of last week's issue will have seen, The Grocer is calling for a review of this model by FSA and Ofcom, in a campaign we've called Weigh It Up!
The response - from celebrity chefs, leading children's dieticians, food writers and the media has been great (see p6). If you haven't already signed up to support us, please go to www.thegrocer.co.uk for more details.
One of the highlights of the week was going on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday to demonstrate what a 100g bowl of Bran Flakes looked like and explaining other absurdities of the model.
And what of the response from the FSA? Predictably, it figured attack was the best form of defence. The FSA told BBC Breakfast viewers that it was not surprising we were calling for a ban as "The Grocer has a constituency that it answers to" (And see the FSA's letter on p30). Talk about junk!
Let me repeat what I said in this column last week. Weigh It Up! is not a campaign to stop the junk food advertising ban. Our argument is that, if there is to be a ban, make it a ban only on junk food and not on cheese, raisins, honey, All-Bran, Marmite and other products that, served in normal portions, are nutritious, health-giving and good for kids.
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