The omnibus appropriations bill, recently signed by President Obama to fund the federal government for the balance of the year, calls for an interagency group to look at recommending new standards for marketing foods to children under the age of 18. The group will determine the scope of the media to be affected and will submit its recommendations to Congress by July of next year.

The Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children will include representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The issue of marketing food to children continues to gain increased attention in Congress. Some IDFA members, such as Kraft Foods and The Dannon Company, have joined others in the food industry as participants in the voluntary Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, established in 2006 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Kraft was a founding member of the initiative, which is designed to shift the mix of advertising messaging directed at children to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles.

For more information about the initiative, click here.