29 September, 2004

King-sized marketing spin won't cut obesity

Green MP Sue Kedgley said today that the claim that selling a king-size chocolate bar with a cut down the middle would somehow contribute to reducing the obesity epidemic was absurd.

"It is an example of a worrying trend - food manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon and using a claim to reduce obesity as a marketing ploy, while refusing to do anything substantial to reduce the high fat and sugar quantities in their food," said Ms Kedgley, the Green Party's Safe Food spokesperson.

"If Masterfoods Australia and New Zealand was genuinely concerned with reducing obesity in New Zealand, they would simply remove all king-size chocolate bars.

"Other steps they and other food manufacturers could take is reducing the fat content of chocolate bars - and all foods marketed at children - and identifying high fat foods with a warning on a label.

"Masterfoods are obviously not prepared to take any of these genuine measures, and have come up instead with a ploy - cutting a king-size bar in half - that they're using as a marketing device.

"If the food industry wants to be seen to be genuinely concerned with helping to reduce obesity in New Zealand, there are a simple set of measures I have outlined in my ten-point obesity plan, that they could introduce tomorrow," she said.

"I challenge Masterfoods and all other food manufacturers to do so."

ENDS

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