Parents and nutritionists complained to the other authority, asking to remove the advertisement claiming that it made fun of them • "The advertisement harms the health of the children and mocks the parents"

Complaint to the Second Authority: The advertisement for Chocolate Terra harms parents who adhere to a healthy diet. About 11 dietitians and parents recently approached the other authority claiming that the message emerging from the new advertisement made them laugh and demanded that it be taken off the screen.

The complaint against the advertisement reveals the difficulty of the Ministry of Health in conveying messages to a healthy diet, while on the other hand food companies try to encourage the consumption of sugary foods.

The advertisement in question shows two mothers at a social event, with one of them pouring her white chocolate. The other marvels at it and asks her: "Chocolate? Add to that full of sugar. I to my purity do not allow."

The second mother explains: "It's chocolate terra, with no added sugar. The kids are dying for it."

Later in the advertisement, other parents turn to the mother who insists on a healthy diet and ask her: "You do not allow? In what section?".

The embarrassed mother looks at the parents around her - and immediately comes to her senses and pours a glass of her white chocolate, which is surprised and asks: "Is it allowed?". In response, the mother replies: "Obviously, funny. Drink. Mother drinks too."

Then she turns to the rest of the parents and declares: "Drink it with us in the morning, in the evening and at Kiddush."

The message that emerges from the advertisement is that a mother who places nutritional restrictions on her child is perceived as abnormal and different. "The advertisement harms the health of the children and shames parents who manage to set limits on the issue of sugary drinks," says dietitian Tirza Shani, one of the applicants to the other authority.

She adds: "The advertisement mocks a mother who tends to limit the consumption of sugary drinks by her children, including drinking chocolate. The mother who is aware that consuming a lot of sugar harms the child's health is doing the right thing. As a dietitian working with children, I set myself the goal of increasing Parents 'awareness of health already in childhood. In an environment that encourages obesity, which makes it very difficult and includes many foods with large amounts of sugar - my goal is to strengthen parents' ability to withstand this environment and set limits on the consumption of foods and sugary drinks. "Reduce it and make a parent who has already internalized the messages feel ashamed."

According to Shani, the advertisement is also misleading to the public: although the chocolate itself is without added sugar, each cup of 200 ml chocolate drink contains 2.5 teaspoons of sugar that are in the ingredients of the chocolate. In addition, Terra's drink contains sugar substitutes. , Which according to a position paper from the Ministry of Health from June, "encourages and maintains the poor habit of preferring sweet taste."

"Marketing and Advertising of Harmful Food - A High-Budget Area"

The second authority stated that 11 inquiries had been received requesting to remove the advertisement for Chocolate Terra. The complaint was forwarded to Tara's response and to an examination of the advertising area in the other authority.

It should be noted that in 2019 the Committee for the Restriction of Food Advertising, which recommended banning the marketing of harmful food during hours intended for children to watch and media intended for children, and preventing the use of celebrities for advertising harmful food for children, completed its work. The recommendations were not implemented and the Ministry of Health contented itself with a commitment on the part of the food industry to refrain from advertising harmful food during children’s viewing hours.

A number of experts in the fields of public health and nutrition have contacted the Ministry of Health in recent days. The director of the nutrition department, Prof. Ronit Andwalt, who responded to the request, admitted that the Ministry of Health has difficulty working with food companies.

Prof. Andwalt noted in her response that "marketing and advertising harmful food in Israel and around the world is a budget-intensive field. Giant corporations invest large sums of money in advertising and sophisticated marketing, and use very strong forces to prevent legislation that restricts advertising - both locally and globally. "The professional is very important to us, I ask you to continue to help us as much as you can. We hope that when the issue comes up for discussion in the Knesset committees, you will continue to stand by us in this important struggle."

Prof. Endeavor stressed that we must continue to fight for the protection of public health and the protection of the health of children.

Tara has not yet commented.