McDonald's pledges to halt advertising of less healthy foods to children under 12

Date

Jul 23, 2007

McDonald's announced plans to change the way it advertises Happy Meals to kids aged 12 and younger as part of an initiative by 11 major food marketers to head off potential government regulation of their marketing practices. McDonald's and the other companies, among them General Mills, PepsiCo Inc., Mars Inc. and Kraft, announced their 'pledges' not to advertise food to children that do not meet certain nutritional guidelines earlier this week.

McDonald's pledged that 'all advertising primarily directed to children under 12 will be for meals that meet specific calorie, fat, saturated fat and sugar limitations consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 and other government standards.'

McDonald's also said its advertising would feature the 375-calorie Happy Meal that includes four chicken McNuggets made with white meat, apple slices, low-fat caramel dip ad 1-percent low-fat white milk.

Source - Nation's Restaurant News