Extra sausage for children unnecessary

Consumer advocates: Extra sausage for children unnecessary

27/01/2012

In the supermarkets, young consumers are attracted by special offers: sausage and cheese packaging in bearish form, brightly colored children's yoghurts and not least sweets. The food industry has long since discovered children as a high-turnover target group. After all, mom and dad can not always say no, "when the little ones beg." Loud „Kids Consumer Analysis“ For children's consumption behavior, six-to-13-year-olds recently received € 24.80 in monthly allowance, which can be spent on sweets and other delicacies. But consumer advocates want to put an end to the children's bait in advertising.

„Toy is toy. Food is food“
With this sentence, the board of the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband („vzbv“), Gerd Billen make clear that colorful packaging and toys have lost nothing in the food industry. Continue on: „The industry has to say goodbye to the bait tactic.“

As a children's lure are used stickers, small figures or other toys in advertising and product packaging. Often, the special children's products are by no means suitable for children, healthy content. Billen explains that the current regulation with self-commitments is not sufficient. In spite of all marketing strategies, the special products are superfluous and expensive at the same time. It had to be ensured that all food was harmless to children. „Parents and children are incapacitated from the beginning and calibrated to finished products“, warns Billen. It is important that children get to know the taste of, for example, eating fruit, not artificial flavors.

More and more artificial flavors in baby food
The „vzbv“ reports that now even toddlers have been discovered as a new target group. Therefore, more and more dietary foods would be developed for this group of consumers, with the result that children as young as a few months would consume grain porridge with artificial vegetables, such as biscuits or stracciatella.

Foodwatch clears the kiddie sausage lie
Already in February last year, the organization criticized „Food Watch“ too high salt content in children's sausage. At that time, among other things, the manufacturer Stockmeyer was with his product „Ferdi Fuchs Mini Sausages "came under fire „Food Watch“ Stockmeyer applied the Kinderwurst as „healthy“. This is loud „Food Watch“ but wrong, because the nutritional needs of children are not sufficiently adapted to the product due to the high salt content of the sausage. The children's sausage contains about two grams of salt per 100 grams, which meets the needs of adults. As the manufacturer but with slogans like „Daily contribution to the healthy diet "advertises, says the organization of „misnomer“.

The manufacturer at that time rejected any criticism. Both „Ferdi Fuchs“ Packaging is anyway supply packs that could be consumed over a longer period of time. In addition, the would of „Food Watch“ criticized content of two grams of salt per 100 grams can only be achieved if children eat up to five sausages at a time.

Consumers are being deceived
The „vzbv“ commissioned a survey that found that 40 percent of consumers erroneously believe that the ingredients of children's products are adapted to children's needs. In fact, the nutritional values ​​are often not optimal for the little ones. The Federal Association advises manufacturers urgently to adjust the contents of salt, fat, saturated fatty acids and sugar in their products to the child's needs. They should abstain as much as possible from additives or only use small amounts. A „nutritional traffic light“ would have indicated at a glance the opposite, however, the policy had decided against pressure from the food industry against it. Billen explains: „Toddlers do not need special care. All foods must also be harmless to infants.“ The federal government would have to make stricter rules when advertising for children, if the manufacturers did not succeed in self-responsibility. (Ag)

Also read:
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Consumer advocates: too much salt in children's sausages

Picture: Joujou