Big Way Of Life

A new report by the Children's Food Campaign exposes how soft drinks companies are using misleading marketing to target children and their parents.

Examples highlighted in the report include a Britvic website which suggests that its products are better than water at keeping children hydrated, and a Vimto marketing campaign emphasising the drink's raspberry content, despite the fact that raspberry juice makes up just 0.1 per cent of its ingredients.

The research also highlights how the makers of Ribena, despite advertising its provenance and nutritional value, have to add 90 per cent of its vitamin C content artificially because it contains such a small amount of fruit juice.

The Children's Food Campaign's Clare Panjwani, who researched and wrote the report, said: "Our survey found some truly misleading marketing blatantly used to drive sales and increase children's soft drinks consumption, which contributes to tooth decay and the UK's record rates of childhood obesity."

She continued: "We need better regulation to protect children from marketing for soft drinks and other junk food, and better food labelling so that parents and children can tell more easily what's in the products they are buying. Water is by far the healthiest – and most sustainable – drink to quench children's thirst, but it needs to be available in public places like parks so that it is easily accessible at all times."

The report comes after the soft drinks industry reported its highest growth rate in seven years in 2010, with UK consumption reaching 14.6bn litres. This amounts to 234 litres for every child and adult in the country, and the equivalent of 642ml – almost two standard 330ml cans and more than a pint – per person each day.