Posted on 01/02/2007 9:47:39 PM PST by neverdem
Cheese is to be treated as junk food under new advertising rules for children's television.
Commercials promoting it will be banned during children's TV programmes and those with a large proportion of young viewers.
The rules, which come into force this month, are part of a Government drive to reduce children's exposure to foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
Much to the disgust of its makers, cheese is to be regarded in the same light as crisps, sugary cereals and cheeseburgers.
In fact, under the criteria used by the Food Standards Agency to determine junk foods, such products are actually regarded as healthier than cheese.
The ban follows evidence that TV commercials have an indirect influence on what children eat and are contributing to obesity in the young.
The Food Standards Agency model assesses the fat, sugar and salt content in a 100g or 100ml serving of food or drink.
But the British Cheese Board points out that a typical portion of cheese was 30 to 40g - not the 100g used in the agency's model.
Most cheese would be exempt from the ban if a typical portion had been used in the calculations, according to the board.
It pointed out that cheese was one of the most 'nutritionally complete' foods.
The National Farmers' Union described the decision as ' nannying gone mad'.
'To suggest there is anything inherently harmful about cheese is absurd,' spokesman Anthony Gibson said.
'There is no such thing as a bad food. It is just how much of it you eat, in what balance and how much exercise you take.'
He said the new rules were 'of no use to consumers', adding: 'It may very well put them off eating healthy things.'
Mary Quicke, who runs Quickes Cheese in Devon, producing handmade cheddar, said the rules had left her 'speechless'. ' Frankly, i t's bonkers,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She said the FSA's decision to assess cheese using a 100g portion was ridiculous. 'Imagine eating 100 grams of cheese - that's four ounces. You would have to be a pretty dedicated eater of cheese to get around that.'
Other foods banned from advertising during children's TV include: Marmite, Flora Lite, half-fat cheddar, Dairylea triangles, bran flakes, camembert, sugar-coated puffed wheat, instant hot oat cereal, Jaffa cakes, reduced calorie mayonnaise, multi-grain hoop cereal, half-fat creme fraiche, takeaway chicken nuggets, potato waffles, Greek yoghurt (from sheep's milk), ham, sausages, bacon rashers, low-fat spreads, peanuts, cashew nuts, pistachio-nuts, peanut butter, raisins, sultanas, currants, low-fat potato crisps, olive oil, butter, pizza, hamburgers, tomato ketchup, chocolate, brown sauce, cola and lemonade.
Foods which escape the ban include: Plain fromage frais, fish fingers, lasagne ready meals, currant buns, malt loaf, frozen roast potatoes, chicken curry with rice ready meal, frozen oven chips, sliced white bread, cottage cheese, supermarket frozen chicken nuggets, milk, brazil nuts, canned strawberries in syrup, diet cola and chocolate-flavoured milk.
I KNOW where the "greasy spoons" are.
:-)
STOP THAT BLOODY BAZOUKI !!
Thanks for the ping!
I really really love cheese.
Pepperjack, SuperSharp Vermont Chedder, Brie, limberger, gouda, mozzarella--
It's a very good food.
Blessed are the cheesemakers.
I know!! I don't smoke (as you know - I've said it before) and I am against any kind of ban on smoking in any business that wants to allow it. The older I get, the more smoke bothers me, BUT I just don't go into a place that allows smoking if I don't want to. There are convenience stores here that do allow smoking by employess and have little tables for people to sit at and do scratch off or eat and allow smoking. When we got out to eat and the seating is limited, I'll just tell the waitress that whatever opens up first (smoking vs non)is what we will take and I certainly don't pitch a fit in bars (not that we get to go out much lately) The people who are whoo hooing over smoking bans are the ones who will be pitching a fit when they come for what they do - and it will come.
When they came for the employees of the oldest profession in the world, I did not speak out, as I had no interest in purchasing sex.
When they came for the purveyors of what was deemed to be "obscene" or "offensive", I did not speak out, as I was not a fan of entertainers like Lenny Bruce or Howard Stern.
When they came to ban the female mammary gland from TV, I did not speak out, because Brian Boitano told me not to.
When they came for the people who don't wear seatbelts, I did not speak out, as I always wore my seatbelt.
When they came for the marijuana smokers, I did not speak out, as I was not a marijuana smoker.
When they came for the steroid users, I did not speak out, as I was not a steroid user.
When they came for the pornographers, I did not speak out, as I was not a pornographer.
When they came for the gun owners, I did not speak out, as I was not a gun owner.
When they came for the gamblers, I did not speak out, as I was not a gambler.
When they came for the cigarette smokers, I did not speak out, as I was not a smoker.
When they came for the overweight and the obese, I did not speak out, as I was not overweight or obese.
When they came for the drinkers (again), I did not speak out, as I was not a drinker.
Then they came for me...and there was nobody left to speak out.
Wha? But chedder is the singular most popular cheese in the world?
Not round these parts...
I just bought a wonderful assortment of cheeses that I won't be able to look at for a week after reading this thread. The nanny-staters don't have to ban all the cheeses. Just put up an ad once a week, showing that picture, with the graphic description in post 34. Nobody would ever eat cheese again.
God almighty,no peanut butter advertising for kids.
Is it me or has the world gone stark,raving mad ????
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