The maker of Snickers bars plans to stop marketing that candy and others to children under 12.
Masterfoods has decided to cease global marketing of candies like Snickers and Mars bars to children younger than 12 over concerns about childhood obesity, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
In the U.S., Masterfoods sells M&Ms, Skittles, Milky Way, Kudos, Starburst, Twix, Combos and 3 Musketeers among other items.
In a letter to the European Commission's director-general for health and consumer protection, the company outlined its new policy, which will apply to all marketing campaigns, including Internet advertisements.
"We have decided to make an official policy change to a cut-off age of 12 years for all our core products," the paper quoted the letter as saying.
The Financial Times reported that there are no global standards for marketing snack foods to kids, but some companies have lower advertising age limits than 12.
Masterfoods had previously not advertised to kids younger than 6, the paper reported.
A couple of other companies have policies about advertising for children, according to the Financial Times. Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) hasn't advertised to children younger than 12 in the U.K. for six years and Kraft (KFT) markets only "better for you" products like juice and crackers to those aged 6 to 11.
Nestle and PepsiCo (PEP) do not have an age-specific advertising policy, the paper said.
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