Ferrero, Cartoon Net Pledge to Limit Food Marketing to Kids

The government may not be able to regulate food marketing to children, but it may not have to. On the same day Michelle Obama used her position as First Lady to push companies to market healthier food to children, two companies joined the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), the industry's self-regulatory group that sets nutrition standards for marketing food to kids under 12.

Ferrero USA, a subsidiary of the global chocolate and confectionery company, which makes such products as Nutella and Tic Tac, pledged not to advertise to children under 12. The company joins other members of the CFBAI including the Coca-Cola, Hershey, and Mars, which also do not direct ads to kids. Cartoon Network also pledged it would not license its characters to food companies unless they meet the CFBAI's nutrition standards for marketing food to kids. CFBAI's director Elaine Kolish, who spoke during the White House's "Convening on Food Marketing to Children," said the day was "inspiring" and "uplifting." In other words, food marketers did not get beat up the way they often do by food advocates. "We weren't scolded. It was a request to go further," Kolish said.