On June 28th 2007 the nordic ministers for fisheries, agriculture, forestry and foodstuffs agreed on calling for a joint and unfortunately voluntary ethical code to limit the marketing of unhealthy food to children and young people.
The wording is inserted below:
nordic ministers for fisheries, agriculture, forestry and foodstuffs
Nordic Council of Ministers
Approved 28 June 2007
Declaration concerning the marketing and accessibility of food for children and young people
The Nordic Council of Ministers for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry (MR-FJLS) would like to improve the dietary habits of children and young people in the Nordic Region.
The ministers have discussed restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foodstuffs and identified a number of positive measures designed to promote a healthy diet. This discussion followed on the 2006 decision by MR-FJLS to draw up a Nordic action plan for better health and quality of life through food and physical activity.
The ministers call upon the Nordic countries to draft a joint voluntary ethical code to limit the marketing of unhealthy cood to children and young people. The code would complement the WHO’s recommendations governing the marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages to children.
The ministers also call upon the food industry to assume greater responsibility for children and young people’s diets, for example through limiting marketing aimed at children and by scrapping volume discounts on unhealthy foodstuffs. Work has already commenced on defining joint Nordic criteria for food labelling, and can be used as a starting point for the work
of defining what constitute healthy/unhealthy foodstuffs.
The ministers call upon the Nordic countries to work more closely together on, and exchange experiences about, mapping the volume and type of marketing of food to children. This will provide the best possible basis for future work on the issue and ensure that progress is made.
The Nordic countries should also consider introducing financial incentives. The ministers recommend a targeted information campaign to improve access to healthy food and to promote its consumption in places frequented by children and young people.
To maximise impact, the ministers seek to ensure that joint Nordic initiatives and policies on children and young people’s eating habits are also adopted by international bodies such as the European Union and the World Health Organisation.
MR-FJLS considers the improvement of children and young people’s eating habits to be a top priority, one which, to be successful, will require multi-sectoral co-operation within the structures of the Nordic Council of Ministers