The Cancer Council of New South Wales has published online a list of the food advertising that occurs during children’s favorite television programming. The online list at a specific website (http://www.fatfreetv.com.au/) has been dubbed a “Fat Free TV Guide” by the Cancel Council which recommends the list be used by parents to filter their children’s selections of programs. Parents are being encouraged by the Cancer Council “to make better viewing choices with television shows that have... ...Read more »

Australian restaurant chain Eagle Boys has launched what it claims to be Australia’s first profiterole pizza, the ‘Profiterizza’. Eagle Boys CEO Todd Clayton said, “At Eagle Boys we’ve focused on developing a real taste menu made from flavoursome ingredient combinations. We know our customers are always looking for something different to satisfy their tastebuds. The Profiterizza contains Bavarian custard, strawberries, chocolate fudge and patisserie crème filled profiteroles. Eagle Boys... ...Read more »

Junk food advertisements will be banned from commercial television at certain times of the day in Australia if a new Bill introduced today by the Australian Greens party is passed. The ‘Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising (Broadcasting and Telecommunications Amendment)’ private member’s bill seeks a ban on “junk food” advertisements on commercial television from 6-9am and 4-9pm on weekdays, and from 6am-12pm and 4-9pm on weekends and school holidays. Junk food is defined by the... ...Read more »

Subway has announced that, from today, its Australian stores will display the kilojoule content of food products on their menu boards. Subway is the latest of several major quick service food chains in Australia to make this move. Other include Hungry Jacks, Domino’s, and McDonald’s. From today, Subway restaurants in Australia will also display nutritional content information on napkins, counter displays and store brochures. In a statement released today, a spokesperson for Subway said the labelling... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has blasted South Australia Health Minister John Hill over a claim that voluntary limits on junk food advertising aimed at children are not working. Speaking at the Don Dunstan Foundation yesterday, Health and Ageing Minister John Hill said tighter regulation is needed on junk food advertising aimed at children. He referred to new research by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s most respected scientific... ...Read more »

McDonald’s Australia has boasted its healthier food credentials by announcing that from tomorrow its customers will be asked if they would like salad as an alternative to fries. McDonald’s announcement coincides with the start of kilojoule labelling on McDonald’s menu boards at point of sale. McDonald’s Australia CEO Catriona Noble said that by making the option of salad part of every ‘Extra Value Meal’, McDonald’s is making it “easier for customers to enjoy a serve of fresh vegetables”. Ms... ...Read more »

Scientists from America and Spain have announced that a diet of junk food can lead to infertility in healthy males. A series of studies were conducted by scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, University of Rochester and the University of Murcia, in Spain. The findings were presented today at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. The University of Rochester’s study recruited men aged between 18 and 22. Diets were assessed via a questionnaire and... ...Read more »

A new study, just published in The Journal of Pediatrics, has found that television food advertisements can have more impact on a child’s food choices than advice from their own parents. Dr Christopher Ferguson and colleagues at Texas A&M International University, in the US, studied 75 children ranging in age from three to five years. All of the children watched two cartoons, with commercials shown between each cartoon. Half of the children watched a commercial for French fries, and the other... ...Read more »

The Cancer Council of New South Wales has renewed calls for tighter regulations on using promotional characters on food packaging. It claims that nearly 75 per cent of promotional characters on Australian food packets spruik products that are high in fat, salt, and sugar. Research conducted by Cancer Council NSW with the University of Sydney’s Prevention Research Collaboration found that the market was “saturated” with licensed merchandise characters, such as cartoon characters, promoting less... ...Read more »

A research paper published today by University of Southern California (USC) claims to explain why many people with bad eating habits continue to eat unhealthy foods – even when the food doesn’t taste good. The researchers gave people about to enter a cinema a bucket of either just-popped, fresh popcorn or stale, week-old popcorn. Those who didn’t usually eat popcorn at the cinema ate much less stale popcorn than fresh popcorn. But those who indicated that they typically had popcorn at the... ...Read more »