CFBAI and CCAI 2019 Report on Compliance and Progress Published
Dec 21, 2020 by BBB National Programs
The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) and Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative’s (CCAI) Annual Report provides details on the significant events of 2019 and an evaluation of participants’ compliance, which was excellent. The report also discusses CFBAI’s revised Core Principles, which participants will implement by January 1, 2021.
The Annual Report also summarizes the nutrition improvements CFBAI participants made in foods they may advertise to children under the Revised Nutrition Criteria, implemented January 1, 2020, and the results of an evaluation of food and beverage ads on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
Nineteen U.S. food and beverage and quick-serve restaurants participate in CFBAI. These companies have voluntarily committed to advertise only foods that meet strict nutrition criteria in advertising directed to children under age 12, or to not advertise to this age group. The CFBAI participants account for 70% of the advertising on children’s television. Under the Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative, a program modeled on CFBAI for small-to-medium size confection companies, eight small-to-medium size confectionery companies pledge to not advertise to children under age 12.
The progress CFBAI is making in improving the children’s food advertising landscape has been recognized by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and others. There have been many improvements in advertised foods that are tied to the implementation of CFBAI’s Uniform Nutrition Criteria. Foods commonly advertised to children (e.g., yogurts, meals, and small meals) generally contain fewer calories, less sugar or sodium, and more whole grains, fruit or vegetables or vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin D and calcium.
This report assesses participants’ compliance with their pledges and notes the nutritional contributions of foods added to the CFBAI Product List in 2019 and 2020.
Access the full report here.