SAFE Publishes a Report on HFSS Food Marketing Targeting Children
29 January 2025
SAFE has finished a report summarising policies to address the marketing of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) targeting children. The document looks at different legislative approaches to protect children’s health by different EU and non-EU countries and compares their outcomes. The EU countries are France, Spain, Denmark, and Ireland. The non-EU countries are Chile, Canada, and the UK.
The country analysis shows that, while some nations have made progress, robust and mandatory regulations are still needed across the EU to protect consumers from aggressive marketing techniques that promote HFSS foods. These should include restrictions on digital marketing, the use of licensed characters or influencers in promotions; restrictions on product placement, and mandatory front-of-package labelling.
In 2022, an estimated 37 million children under 5 years of age were classified as overweight worldwide. Among children and adolescents aged 5–19 years, approximately 390 million were overweight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).