Kraft Heinz Faces Heat For Ads Discouraging The Consumption Of Healthy Foods
Image via Ore Ida Potatoes
Kraft Heinz Co has been disparaged by a US consumer advocacy group as the latter claims that the food and beverage giant has been discouraging healthy foods, including broccoli, salmon, and tofu, in its advertisements.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says it has filed a complaint to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Better Business Bureau (CARU), claiming that the commercials have violated guidelines.
The health watchdog has cited a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese clip from 2019 showing a child running away from vegetables, yelling “no,” and then being pacified by a macaroni and cheese bowl. The advertisement then ends with the tagline “for the win-win.”
The group also points to the company’s Ore-Ida French fries campaign from 2018, which it says has violated guidelines as it encourages parents to bribe children with french fries to get them to eat healthy foods.
According to CARU’s guidelines, advertising of food products should “encourage responsible use of the product with a view toward healthy development of the child.”
“Kraft Heinz violated these guidelines on multiple occasions by airing an advertisement that disparages vegetables while encouraging consumption of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese,” says the CSPI.
Kraft Heinz has since discontinued the advertisements on television, though they are still visible online.
[via B&T, cover image via Ore Ida Potatoes]
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