Ad ban shapes as a primo battle

Ham, salami, potato chips and biscuits are at risk of being caught in a pending ban on junk-food advertising on government buses, trains and trams in South Australia.

Ham for rolls may be banned from being advertised on Adelaide public transport, it is claimed. Picture: iStock

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The war on ham is under way over a controversial ban on junk food advertising that may include children’s everyday lunch box items on the forbidden list.

Ham, salami, potato chips, BBQ Shapes and biscuits such as Tiny Teddys are all at risk of being caught up in a pending ban on junk-food advertising on government buses, trains and trams in South Australia.

Ham and other smallgoods are listed by the World Health Organisation as group one carcinogens alongside cigarettes, alcohol, diesel exhaust, asbestos and benzene.

That listing is supported by the Australian Medical Association and the Cancer Council, both of which are urging parents to remove smallgoods and other processed foods from school lunch boxes.

The Malinauskas government insists the key impetus of the crackdown is to stop junk food advertising, with soft drinks and fast food the main targets.

But it has struggled to quell claims from the advertising industry that the ban will also affect products such as ham.

The Australian Association of National Advertisers said the guidelines were so broad the crackdown risked becoming a “blanket ban” which could even include SA government-sponsored food festivals such as Tasting Australia.

“As it stands this policy bans all processed meats, which means a simple ham salad sandwich can’t be advertised.” AANA chief executive Josh Faulks said.

“This simply doesn’t make sense and the government should be making evidence-based decisions, not blanket bans that don’t align with nutritional science.

“The policy bans all advertising showing those banned food or drink items. For example, an ad celebrating the anniversary of a children’s charity which depicts a child with a birthday cake would be banned. The Tasting Australia event can no longer show images of charcuterie boards or pastries in their advertising.”

The issue has blown up with parents deriding it as the work of lunch-box police and talkback radio fielding calls about whether people can now seek treatment for ham addiction.

Advertising for fast food on a bus in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Loxton

But state Health Minister Chris Picton accused the advertising industry of running a baseless “clickbait” campaign seeking to whip up public hysteria by cherrypicking information from public health dietary guidelines.

He said the industry’s bottom line was a continuation of “open slather” advertising, pointing out the government’s move was limited only to its own public transport assets.

“We are saying when it comes to junk food, we are not forcing anyone to stop advertising in the media, but for things the government owns we are not going to sell that to junk food companies, particularly when we have got an obesity crisis,” Mr Picton said.

However, he was unable to say whether a specific smallgood producer such as Don or Primo would still be allowed to advertise products such as Stackers, ham slices in packs with cheese and biscuits.

It is also unclear whether companies such as Subway will be covered by the ban.