The FSA has launched a public defence of its controversial Nutrient Profiling Model - while broadcast regulator Ofcom has snubbed a high-profile cheese conference at which it is to be discussed.
On its website, the FSA hits back at criticism of the model, which is used by Ofcom to determine which foods can't be advertised to kids.
Many of the issues addressed have been raised by The Grocer's Weigh It Up! campaign, which is calling for an urgent review of the model because it demonises some healthy foods.
The FSA insists it is correct to measure all foods on a 100g basis, even though this means many wholesome products usually eaten in much smaller quantities - such as cheese, honey, Marmite, raisins and breakfast cereals - cannot now be advertised to kids.
The FSA says: "Using a per-portion approach would bring no significant advantages and would introduce difficulties, not least of which is the fact that serving sizes and consumption patterns are an individual matter and cannot be standardised. There is no agreed consensus on portion size in the food industry relevant to this application."
It also argues food companies failed to come up with an alternative model.
Meanwhile, Ofcom has declined an invite from Dairy UK to speak about the ad ban at a Cheese Summit on 1 May. Instead it has sent a statement to Dairy UK claiming its ban will not adversely affect the advertising of cheese. It says an analysis of advertising showed just 20% of cheese ads were shown in kids' airtime, and 90% of these ads were for processed cheese products. But Dairy UK's Ed Komorowski said the relevance of the latter statistic was unclear. "Processed cheese is as full of nutrients as other cheeses," he said.
n Campaign magazine has launched Action for Ads, a campaign that calls for an end to "attacks on advertising freedoms" including those restricting food ads targeting children.
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