The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has invited the general public, advertisers and other stakeholders to participate in the review of the Code that governs food and beverage advertising in Australia.
The Food & Beverages Advertising Code (F&B Code) review also incorporates a review of the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s (AFGC) Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative (RCMI) and Quick Service Restaurants Initiative (QSRI).
The AFGC and AANA Boards have agreed that the AANA will assume responsibility for the administration of these initiatives from 1 July 2020. AFGC Acting CEO Dr Geoffrey Annison said the AFGC will continue to support self-regulation of responsible marketing to children as a policy position.
“The Council is proud of the role the RCMI and QSRI have played in moderating advertising of food and beverages products in line with community expectations since 2009. We will provide advice to AANA on the RCMI and QSRI to ensure the transition to the new management arrangements is as smooth as possible.
“The RCMI and the QSRI have been successful in ensuring what our children see when it comes to advertising is appropriate in content, and in placement across the various media outlets,” Dr Annison said.
The alignment of the Codes together with the review will help ensure that the content of advertising and marketing communication relating to food and non-alcoholic drinks adheres to a high standard of social responsibility. AANA CEO John Broome said that the review process would make certain that all of the F&B Code’s provisions were reflective of contemporary community expectations.
“This review aims to update and, where necessary, develop the Code and accompanying Practice Notes so that the AANA can continue to provide Ad Standards’ independent Community Panel with the appropriate framework against which it can make decisions about complaints it receives.
“The review of the F&B Code is part of a continuous series of improvements the AANA is undertaking to maintain the effectiveness of the self-regulatory system.
“Consultation is central to that evolution, so we invite any interested party to make a submission,” Mr Broome said.
The AANA has released a discussion paper to promote dialogue with stakeholders and help stimulate informed input to the F&B Code review. Submissions will be accepted until 5PM on Friday, 12 June 2020.
It is expected that a new Code will be published in October 2020 and take effect from January 2021. The AANA also recently reviewed its Code of Ethics, with a new version of that Code set for release in August 2020.
