Kedgley: Keep the boozy bikkies out of NZ

Arnott's attempts to market alcohol-flavoured chocolate biscuits in New Zealand represents a dangerous new ploy by marketers to hook children and young people into the culture of alcohol at an early age, Green MP Sue Kedgley today.

Ms Kedgley, the Green spokesperson for Health and Food Safety called on Arnott's to immediately halt their plans to introduce the biscuits to the New Zealand market and said the time was right for a comprehensive review of foodstuffs aimed at children and young people that contained alcohol.

"Marketers are targeting children and young people at ever-younger ages in an attempt to get them hooked on the taste of alcohol," said Ms Kedgley. "Introducing booze-flavoured chocolate biscuits is going far too far.

"This is going to the limits of predatory marketing. In recent years the market has been flooded with sweet alco-pop drinks and alcoholic lollies directly marketed at young people. Now we're faced with alcoholic bikkies.

"What's the point of making alcohol illegal to people under the age of 18 when all manner of products are being sneaked into the food chain?" she asked.

Ms Kedgley called on the Government to conduct a review of all products aimed at children and young people that contain alcohol or have alcohol-like flavouring with a view of prohibiting these products.

"We have a big enough problem with booze-culture in New Zealand without young children developing a taste for the bottle before they even hit their teenage years," said Ms Kedgley.

"Marketers and manufacturers need to exhibit some sense of social responsibility and curb their predatory marketing tendencies. I call on Arnott's to rethink their decision and put social responsibility ahead of profits."

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