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CHOICE taking action on misleading labels

An investigation run by CHOICE has found that manufactures behind products such as Paddle Pops, Tiny Teddies and Shapes are misleading parents by using self-made school canteen certification on packing to imply that their junk food is a good option for school lunchboxes.

“CHOICE found 17 different industry-made certifications that have manipulated the school canteen guidelines to promote nutrient-poor and processed foods,” says CHOICE spokesperson Tom Godfrey.

CHOICE found that these logos predominantly appear on processed snacks with little or no nutritional value. Many products with these logos, such as Arnott's 100s & 1000s Tiny Teddies, Monster Noodle Snacks and Parker's Pretzel Snacks only get a health star rating of two or less.

“School canteen approved logos are essentially acting as health halos for processed, packaged foods. With one in four children in Australia overweight or obese, we need labels that make it easier to make healthier decisions.”

“We recommend that food companies replace these certifications with health star ratings so that consumers are able to make fair and easy comparisons between food products.”

“Our message to parents is simple: don’t trust the claims made by Arnott’s Tiny Teddies and other junk food companies around canteen certification.”

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