On April 28, the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children - consisting of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – released its report, Preliminary Proposed Nutrition Principles to Guide Industry Self-Regulatory Efforts with suggested voluntary standards for marketing foods to children 2 – 11 and teens 12 – 17.

The proposed recommendations are similar to an earlier version released in December, 2009. The report suggests two voluntary advertising and marketing principles: (1) advertise foods that make a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet; and (2) minimize advertising to promote consumption of foods with significant amounts of nutrients that could have a negative impact on health or weight.

The first principle recommends that minimum levels of fruit, vegetables, grains, milk (fat-free or low-fat), nuts, and extra lean meat or poultry, among others, be contained in all food marketed to children and adolescents. The second principal suggests content restrictions on saturated fats, trans-fats, added sugars and sodium.

These Principles relate back to the marketing definitions set out in the FTC's 2008 Report to Congress - Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents.

Preliminary Proposed Nutrition Principles to Guide Industry Self-Regulatory Efforts is posted below.