Submission Number: 00395 

Received: 7/8/2011 10:48:11 AM
Commenter: Michelle Minton
Organization: The Competitive Enterprise Institute
State: District of Columbia
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Initiative: Preliminary Proposed Nutrition Principles to Guide Industry Self-Regulatory Efforts; Project No. P094513
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Submission Text
COMMENTS OF THE COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE REGARDING THE INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON FOOD MARKETING TO CHILDREN: PROPOSED NUTRITION PRINCIPLES: FTC PROJECT No. P094513 July 5th, 2011 By Electronic Filing Federal Trade Commission Office of the Secretary Room H-135 (Annex) 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20580 Re: The Interagency Working Group on Food Marketing to Children: Proposed Nutrition Principles: FTC Project No. P094513 The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., with a longstanding interest in protecting and expanding consumer choice in the marketplace, and in opposing overregulation of commercial speech. While we recognize that obesity is a serious problem, particularly among the nations’ youth and understand regulators’ desire to address the issue, we oppose the current proposal due to its conflicts with the right of commercial free speech and the deleterious effects it would have on vibrancy and competition in the marketplace. Even though the Proposed Nutrition Principles are presented as voluntary, non-binding guidance documents all too frequently become viewed by government and regulated industries alike as de facto standards. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that these principles will come to be seen as voluntary in name only, and thus set commercial speech restrictions that would otherwise conflict with First Amendment principles. In addition, the proposal would impose a significant regulatory burden on companies, undermine existing, ongoing efforts by leading food producers to formulate and market healthier products, and inappropriately expand the proper role of government in a way that limits consumer choice. (Full comments attached)