New Advertising Rules For Junk Food And Alcohol In The Pipeline

Health conscious parents might be glad to learn of the new proposed stricter regulations by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. The department clearly communicated the guidelines that should be put in place, in an effort to alleviate the exposure of harmful advertising to the country’s children.

This stems from the backdrop of the advertising of unhealthy food and alcohol in South Africa, which partly contributes to the growing number of obesity amongst children and the deterioration of their health in general.

In a public statement issued by the department; outlines were clearly stated in the drafted audio and audiovisual content services(AAVCS).

“The draft white paper proposes that to protect children, the regulator must in respect of the scheduling of adverts make regulations for all AAVCS licenses on the advertising of alcoholic beverages and harmful foods that are high in salt, sugars, fat, saturated fats or trans – fatty or that otherwise do not fit national or international nutritional guidelines.”

The government has not approved of the new proposed rules per se, however it has agreed to introduce warning signs, as that will assist consumers in knowing what is packaged, as many aren’t cognisant of what they are actually eating.