Sixteen major food and beverage manufacturers – including Nestle, Kraft, Unilever, Mars, Kellogg’s and Sanitarium – have now signed up to the Australian food industry code, declaring they will not advertise to children under 12 unless the product promotes healthy dietary choices and a healthy lifestyle.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative came into effect in January this year and the country’s Advertising Standards Bureau will monitor any code breaches – such as dissatisfaction with the healthy food choice, the marketing approach or product placement of the ad – but reports that it has not received any complaints so far.