Posted by kathryn in Labels & advertising

The newly formed Obesity Policy Coalition have called for GST to be added to sweet breakfast cereals. GST is already added to cakes, biscuits and confectionary and the OPC believe sugary cereals should be included in this category, as they’re “junk food dressed up as breakfast cereal”.

The OPC includes obesity experts from the Victorian Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia (Victoria) and the WHO Collaborating Centre on Obesity Prevention at Deakin University. They are concerned about the increasing rates of overweight and obese people in Australia, particularly children.

Their plan includes:

• banning junk food marketing to children on TV and via the internet, mobile phone and email
• adding GST to breakfast cereals containing more than 27 percent sugar (this would include Froot Loops, Coco Pops, Rice Bubbles, Nutri-Grain, Frosties and Milo cereal)
• compulsory traffic-light labelling on the front of packaged foods

I’ve written before about some of the problems with current food labelling. While I’m not a fan of the traffic light system, I do think it’s ridiculous these super-high sugar products are sold as breakfast cereals. Coco pops, which contains 36 percent sugar is even marketed as being healthy for kids because it’s fortified with vitamins. These cereals don’t make a good breakfast. They’re junk food and should be consigned to the occasionally only category.

Story sources:

• The Age
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Herald Sun

Updated – as a reader pointed out rice bubbles have 9 percent sugar, so they wouldn’t be included in this ban. Sorry – my fault.

12 September, 2007