Kraft to Halt Some Ads Targeted at Kids

Kraft Foods Inc. said Wednesday that it would stop advertising products such as Oreo cookies and Kool-Aid beverages to children younger than 12 as it works to deflect criticism that such foods contribute to childhood obesity.

The move means ads for some of Kraft’s best-known snack foods and sugary cereals will no longer appear during television shows such as cartoons, which are viewed primarily by children ages 6 to 11.

The change also will affect advertising in radio and print media, Kraft said.

“We recognize that parents are concerned about the mix of food products being advertised to younger children,” said Mark Berlind, Kraft’s executive vice president of global corporate affairs.

Increased media focus on the 15% of U.S. children and adolescents and two-thirds of adults who are overweight has led Kraft in the last year to remove artery-clogging trans fats from its snack foods, repackage some in 100-calorie packs, and cease its marketing in schools.

Such moves by Kraft and others in the food industry, which in 2003 saw McDonald’s Corp. become the target of a high-profile obesity lawsuit, help insulate companies from litigation blaming specific foods for making people, and particularly children, fat, one expert said.

“The whole area of child nutrition is one where you want to be squeaky clean,” said Bob Goldin, executive vice president with food industry research firm Technomic. “That’s where there is concern about liability, and certainly public scrutiny.”

As demand for calorie- and fat-laden products slows, Kraft has de-emphasized foods such as Oreo cookies, which have 53 calories and 2.5 grams of fat each, according to CalorieKing.com, which tracks nutritional information.

As part of that effort, the Northfield, Ill., company also said Wednesday that it was introducing a new food-labeling program in the United States that would feature a “flag” on packaging for products that meet certain nutritional criteria.

Those criteria include providing protein, calcium, fiber or whole grain at “nutritionally meaningful levels” and staying within specific limits on calories, fat, sodium and sugar. It did not say what those limits were.

Throughout 2005, Kraft said it would increase advertising in media seen mainly by children ages 6 to 11 of products that meet the new guidelines, including sugar-free Kool-Aid beverages and reduced-sugar Fruity Pebbles Cereal.

Kraft shares fell 1 cent to $34.23 on the New York Stock Exchange. Kraft is majority owned by Altria Group Inc.