BBC to axe licensed pre-school junk food after lobbying

Jules Grant, Brand Republic 08:45 06-04-2004
LONDON – The BBC is to join the fight against obesity after pressure from food groups and will ensure that food marketed under its highly popular Teletubbies and Tweenies brands will in future be healthier.

The BBC has licensed a range of pre-school food including sweets and cakes, which are sold under the Fimbles, Teletubbies and Tweenies banners.

The Food Commission said it backed the BBC's decision saying that it had lobbied the BBC for two years to change its policy and said it hoped other firms would follow suit.

Tim Lobstein, Food Commission director, said: "For over two years we have urged the BBC to take children's health seriously when allowing their popular characters to be used to sell sweets, snacks, puddings and processed meals to children."

BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm that licenses almost 100 products, said that a review instigated in August has addressed concerns about the labelling of its pre-school food products and their levels of salt, fat and sugar.

A spokeswoman for BBC Worldwide claimed that over a period of two years, the division plans to axe all "daily treat" chocolate and confectionery items and replace them with foods that are more nutritionally balanced.

She claimed that religious and birthday treats, such as Easter eggs, would remain however. The BBC's three biggest pre-school food brands licences are Teletubbies, Fimbles and Tweenies.

BBC Worldwide has also pledged to use pre-school characters to license a range of healthier products including ravioli and vegetable bake ready meals, as well as fish, fruit and vegetable meals.

The new decision follows discussions with health bodies also including the Foods Standards Agency and the British Nutrition Foundation.

The Food Commission brought its 1,700-strong parents jury to bear on the BBC and pointed out that the BBC's own survey of parents backed its case for the BBC to improve the health standards of its branded food.

Rupert Gavin, BBC Worldwide chief executive, said: "We are conscious of the small but high-profile part we play through our licensing of children's TV characters to food manufacturers. Over the next two years we aim to be pioneers in leading the way in children's character food licensing."

Last year the BBC ended running joint promotions with fast food companies.

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Their pledge is laudible, but unfortunately, they don't yet get it as it's clear they are not yet buying into low-carb as a healthy way to eat.