Why Peppa Pig and Disney characters could be banned from children's food packaging

Activists demand that caricatures be banned in food packaging for children, after half of the products have been deemed unhealthy.

Their study revealed that out of 526 products featuring characters such as Disney, Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, 51% were high in fat, sugar or salt.

And half of the products that feature animated characters are so unhealthy that they would be banned from advertising on television or on the London Underground, according to Action on Salt / Action on Sugar and the childhood campaign for food.

According to them, food companies "deliberately manipulate children and parents to buy products dangerous to health".

And they want to ban cartoons for the benefit of a traffic light system indicating the fat, salt and sugar content.

Their study revealed that Dr. Moo Quick Milk Magic's Strawberry Straw Sipper Strawberry straw containing 5.6 g of sugar contained 5.6 g of sugar, or nearly 30% of the recommended daily level for children from 4 to 6 years.

The Bar Organix Goodies Oatmeal Bar and Orange, which show a cartoon girl, have 8.1 g for 30 g – more than 50% of the daily level.

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labor Party, supported the campaign by stating, "We are in the midst of a childhood obesity crisis and businesses are using cartoons to promote junk food among children. It's time we changed the rules. "

Barbara Crowther, CFC, said, "Parents tell us how their kids' favorite characters are pushing for treats, and they overwhelmingly support the ban.

"It's time for the government … to tighten advertising restrictions with similar rules for packaging."

A blanket ban would see pictures of favorites such as Tony the Tiger on Kellogg's Frosties and banned McVitie's Penguin bars.

Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: "The ban on all cartoon characters would be unnecessarily cumbersome."