Food makers resist lawmakers’ proposal for guidelines in marketing to children

The food and advertising industries are pushing back against an Obama Administration proposal that calls for food makers to voluntarily limit the way they market sugary cereals, salty snacks and other foods to children and teens.

From yogurt makers to candy manufacturers, they lined up to tell regulators that the first-ever proposed guidelines for marketing to children would not stop the childhood obesity problem but would certainly hurt their businesses and abridge their right to free speech. The guidelines, ordered by Congress and written by a team from the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Agriculture Department, ignited a debate about the role of marketing in soaring obesity rates among children. “I can't imagine any mom in America who thinks stripping tigers and toucans off cereal boxes will do anything to reduce obesity,” said Scott Faber, a vice president at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents food makers and retailers. But public interest groups and health experts say tighter controls on advertising will make a difference. “It’s clear that food marketing to children is a big factor,” said Daniel Levy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.