Latest news with #JoshFaulks
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Fresh support for ‘ham sandwich' ad ban
A leading health body has thrown its full support behind South Australia's controversial move to ban junk food ads on public transport assets, saying it's time to 'draw a line in the sand' and protect Aussie kids from unhealthy marketing. Food for Health Alliance executive manager Jane Martin, in a statement released to NewsWire, said the ban, which is now in effect, would influence diets and help pull down the 'wallpaper' of junk food ads. 'Current food marketing rules in Australia are largely voluntary and controlled by industry itself,' she said. 'They're ineffective, inconsistent and full of loopholes. 'As a result, junk food ads bombard kids everywhere they go – on social media, on billboards, on public transport, at sports games. 'It is the wallpaper in our children's lives and it shapes what kids want, what they pester their parents for and, ultimately, what they eat.' The ban prohibits a range of junk food items from being displayed on Adelaide's buses, trains and trams, including processed meats like ham. The ban ignited controversy after the AANA claimed it would prohibit the display of ham sandwiches. Supplied Credit: Supplied Chocolate, lollies, confectionary, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks and chips are all banned from display alongside processed meats, with the measure designed to limit children's exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertising. The ban ignited controversy in the months before its July 1 introduction, with the Australian Association of National Advertisers pushing hard against what it called a 'blanket ban'. 'As it stands, this policy bans all processed meats, which means a simple ham salad sandwich can't be advertised.' AANA chief executive Josh Faulks said in May. 'This simply doesn't make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don't align with nutritional science.' Food for Health Alliance executive manager Jane Martin supports SA's ban on junk food ads on trams, buses and trains. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia The AANA confirmed with NewsWire it opposed all advertising bans for food and beverages. Health Minister Chris Picton, speaking in May, said the AANA was 'scaremongering' and 'providing misinformation about this commonsense policy'. 'It is not up to advertising industry lobbyists to tell us what can be displayed on our public transport assets,' he said. Some 63 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of children across South Australia are overweight or obese, government figures show. On Tuesday, Ms Martin said the government had made a 'smart and necessary step' that was backed by evidence. 'After similar restrictions were introduced by Transport for London, expected household purchases of unhealthy food and drinks dropped by more than 1000 calories per week,' she said. The ban applies to South Australia's public transportation assets. NewsWire / Emma Brasier Credit: News Corp Australia 'Other cities like Canberra, Amsterdam and New York have also adopted similar policies. 'The processed food and advertising industries have had a long, profitable run. 'But now it's time we draw a line and stop letting them promote their unhealthy products to kids on their daily commute.' She warned Australia was already lagging behind international best practice in protecting children from 'unhealthy food marketing'. 'Our kids are paying the price,' she said. 'Over a third of Australian children's daily energy intake now comes from unhealthy food and drinks, more than 40 per cent for teenagers. 'Unhealthy diets are placing children at higher risk of being above a healthy weight in adulthood and from developing type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease or 13 cancers later in life.'
7NEWS
04-07-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
Humble ham sandwich back on the menu amid South Australia's junk food advertising ban
Claims that 'healthy' foods would be included in a state government's ban on junk food advertising have been dismissed. The South Australian Government said its advertising ban — which came into force on government-owned public transport on Tuesday — targeted processed meats, chocolate, lollies, desserts, ice creams, soft drinks and chips in a bid to curb childhood obesity. However, there were claims that 'healthy' foods — such as rice crackers, soy milk and even the humble ham sandwich — would fall victim to the advertising ban, according to a report by Newscorp. Australian Association of National Advertisers CEO Josh Faulks told the outlet the ban was confusing. 'The government has not been able to clearly articulate what is in and what is out of their banned list and has told businesses to submit their ads to an expert panel for assessment if they are unsure,' Faulks said. SA Health and Wellbeing Minister Chris Picton has said the ban only targeted highly processed foods containing high fat, high salt and high sugar. 'South Australia has become the second place in the country to no longer put junk food ads on our public transport,' Picton told 'We need to take action against junk food because the obesity crisis has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable disease.' Picton accused the AANA of trying to undermine the advertising ban. 'Unfortunately the advertising industry lobbyists have opposed these junk food restrictions from the beginning,' he said. 'Because they can't win the actual argument about junk food advertising they are concocting spurious click-bait hypotheticals instead. 'The SA Government will continue to take public health advice from the Cancer Council and Heart Foundation and not advertising industry lobbyists.' SA Health said the foods targeted by the advertising ban are set out by Council of Australian Governments Health Council's National interim guide to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food and drink promotion, and based on Australian dietary guidelines. It includes sweetened drinks such as fruit and vegetable juice with added sugars along with soft drinks, confectionery; fatty, sugary or salted snack foods; and prepackaged unhealthy meals including many fast foods. understands products such as soy milk and rice crackers can still be advertised as long as they do not contain additives such as sugars. Preventive Health SA data reveals 66 per cent of South Australian adults and 37.1 per cent of children are overweight or living with obesity, which can put people at greater risk of many diseases and health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. South Australia has the nation's highest rate of diabetes. The AANA had told the government's ban was confusing and claimed it was 'effectively discouraging people from consuming what are widely considered to be nutritious core foods'. 'We fully support measures that encourage healthier choices but the implementation of these policies must be based on credible, evidence-based criteria,' Faulks told the outlet. 'The government has not been able to clearly articulate what is in and what is out of their banned list and has told businesses to submit their ads to an expert panel for assessment if they are unsure. This list should be science-based, objective and create certainty for business, not create more confusion.'
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Soy milk and rice cakes banned from SA Government ads in new ‘junk food' crackdown
The South Australian Government has come under fire after officially banning advertisements for fortified soy milk and rice cakes on public transport, labelling the household staples as 'junk food'. The policy, which came into effect today, prevents a wide range of food and drink products from being advertised on state-owned assets. While intended as a public health initiative, the inclusion of products often seen as healthy alternatives, such as soy milk and rice cakes, and even ham salad sandwiches has triggered widespread confusion. Fortified soy milk is a plant-based beverage made from soybeans that has been enriched with essential nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. One of the country's most well-known fortified soy milk brands, So Good, has all its soy milk varieties rated five stars under the Health Star Rating system. Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) CEO Josh Faulks said the decision has left both industry and consumers baffled and called for a more science-based, objective framework. 'We fully support measures that encourage healthier choices, but the implementation of these policies must be based on credible, evidence-based criteria,' Mr Faulks said. 'The government has not been able to clearly articulate what is in and what is out of their banned list and has told businesses to submit their ads to an expert panel for assessment if they are unsure. 'This list should be science-based, objective and create certainty for business, not create more confusion.' He warned the policy could backfire by sending 'a contradictory message to consumers' and undermining trust in health-based campaigns. 'The government is effectively discouraging people from consuming what are widely considered to be nutritious core foods,' he said. To address the growing uncertainty, the AANA has urged the South Australian Government to adopt the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criteria developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), an independent federal agency that guides national food standards. The agency's criteria are already used to inform food labelling and health claims across all Australian states and territories. Mr Faulks also raised concerns about the policy's potential economic fallout. 'The oat and almond farmers in South Australia may be surprised to know that their government wants people to drink less oat and almond milk,' he said. 'The official policy objective is to drive down purchase and consumption of these products.'
Sky News AU
15-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
'Simply doesn't make sense': Nation's peak marketing body clashes with South Australia government over policy to ban junk food ads amid obesity crisis
South Australia is set to make an extraordinary move to ban all junk food advertisements from public transportation in a bid to scale back the state's rising obesity figures. The mandatory state policy is expected to kick in from July 1 and will prohibit an array of advertisements per the COAG Health Council's National interim guide to reduce children's exposure to unhealthy food and drink promotion. Businesses will soon be restricted from advertising images of lollies, dried fruits with added sugar, chocolocate, doughnuts, savoury or flavoured crisps, burgers, pizza, nachos, processed meats, kebabs and more. The government is also expected to ban promotions of meat pies and sausage rolls. "Australians are regularly exposed to unhealthy food and drink marketing which can influence nutrition knowledge, food preferences and consumption patterns, especially for children," the South Australia government wrote in a previous statement. "Unhealthy diets continue to be a leading public health risk." However, the nation's peak advertising body has clashed with the state on the drastic policy and has criticised the extensive list of restrictions. The CEO of Australian Association of National Advertisers, Josh Faulks said: "As it stands, this policy bans all processed meats, which means a simple ham salad sandwich can't be advertised.' "This simply doesn't make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don't align with nutritional science.' The AANA further highlighted the economic impact the policy could have on businesses and claimed the sweeping changes would make it hard to advertise in South Australia. 'The Tasting Australia event can no longer show images of charcuterie boards or pastries in their advertising," said Faulks. 'Under this policy, businesses that have nothing to do with the food or beverage industry will find advertising in South Australia harder. "We fully support measures that encourage healthy eating, but this policy fails to distinguish between everyday foods and discretionary items, creating confusion and unfairly restricting brands that are doing the right thing from communicating with consumers." In place of the "blanket ban" the AANA is urging the state government to instead adopt the Food Standards Australia New Zealand nutrient profiling scoring criteria to determine which foods should be restricted. According to latest government figures about 63 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of children across South Australia are overweight or obese. The state policy has garnered the support of a number of organisations including Preventative Health SA and the Cancer Council. Health Minister Chris Picton took aim at AANA and accused the peak body of ''scaremongering'' the public. ''These lobbyists want to force the State Government to keep having junk food ads on our own buses amidst an obesity crisis,'' Mr Picton said. 'Advertising of unhealthy food and drinks has long been recognised as having a harmful impact on the diets of children. ''The policy applies to government-owned Adelaide Metro buses, trains and trams. It is not up to advertising industry lobbyists to tell us what can be displayed on our public transport assets.''
West Australian
15-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
South Australia bans ham sandwich advertising on public transport amid battle against obesity
Australia's battle against obesity thickens following South Australia's move to ban ads on ham sandwiches on public transport, following in the footsteps of WA, which swung the axe against the Aussie staple last year. The iconic sandwich has been banished in a move to remove advertisement for items labelled as junk food from being publicised on buses, trains and trams across Adelaide from July 1. The bold action aims to limit the exposure of unhealthy food and drinks to children through advertisement, and bring a light to the link between eating processed meats and the increased risk in bowel cancer. The humble ham sandwich has been put in the same bracket as confectionery products like lollies, chocolates, ice cream, chips and soft drinks — as government figures showed 63 per cent of adults and 35 per cent of children in SA are overweight or obese. Western Australia made a similar move, with schools putting a controversial ban on ham and cheeses toasties from canteens last year. Industry marketing body Australian Association of National Advertising (AANA) has pushed back against the 'blanket ban' which it labels as unjustified. 'As it stands, this policy bans all processed meats which means a simple ham salad sandwich can't be advertised,' AANA CEO Josh Faulks told Newswire. 'This simply doesn't make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don't align with nutritional science.' The leading body opposed all advertising bans on food and drinks, instead pushing for the government to adopt a 'science-based approach'. The suggested approach would use nutrient profiling scoring criteria to decide which foods should be restricted, instead of the healthy eating policy used to justify the ban. Western Australia followed the same system last year, when under the traffic light system, processed meats became a red item and were removed from canteen shelves.
