Work Package 6: Food marketing

Reducing marketing of unhealthy foods to children

Children are constantly exposed to marketing messages both offline and online. The information they receive affects their food choices. As eating habits are formed at an early age, getting the right nutrition information will give them a better chance to grow up to be healthy adults. The European Union adopted the Audiovisual Media Services Directive at the end of 2018 to coordinate national legislation on all audiovisual media. One of the main goals of the directive is the protection of children and consumers. The implementation of this Directive is underway in the Member States.

Objectives of this work package are to identify best policy practices to reduce exposure of children to marketing of unhealthy foods, and develop harmonised protocols and tools to monitor the extent and nature of marketing exposure of children. Support Member States with the implementation of the new EU rules on audiovisual media services.

Benefits to European citizens

Due to the more stringent Codes and monitoring of unhealthy food marketing to children across the EU, children will be less exposed to advertisements and messages that could lead them to make poor nutritional choices.

Parents will be less concerned that on their way to school or while surfing the net their children will see unhealthy foods ads.

Expert Area

This Work Package sets out plans to take forward further marketing and advertising restrictions (especially in the digital world) across the EU to help achieve a reduction in childhood obesity.

D6.1 An EU harmonised approach using the WHO nutrient profile model for the identification of foods not permitted for marketing to children (June 2021)
D6.2 Technical guidance for codes of practice (March 2022)
D6.3 Report on Pilot EU–wide harmonised and comprehensive monitoring protocol for unhealthy food marketing to children, with a particular focus on digital marketing (May 2023)
D6.4 A harmonised EU Framework for Action on reducing unhealthy food marketing to children, within the scope of HLG-N&PA (September 2023)