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July 18, 2011

i I:The H o n o ~ ~ " ] I ' o m 'vnsaAUc The HOnomble Kathleen SebeliusSecretary r i SecretaryU.S. ~ ofAgriculture U.S: Department of Health and Human Services1400 I n ~ . c e Al'!eD11e, SW 200 Independence Avenue, SWWas.hiDgtoD1 DC 2025() , Washington, D.C. 20201 /: : ).The H o ~ I t i iron,uJi,ovm. C1..._:_A- i : ' ,W1UUIAlol ; ! j' , ! 'Federal1#:0omnUhsion600 Pennsyl .: Av.ue"N.W.Wasbingto.tiJ 20Sli1) .

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Dear S e c r e ~ V i t s a \ c ~ . Seicretary SebeJius, and Chainnan Leibowitz:i ,IR e p ~ i j . t i n g J the leading confectionery producing state- in the n a t i o ~ providing over 21,000 ~ n e r y jobs and producing approximately 59.3 billion worth ofconfBotionerypreductsiivYwe,writa: to express our significant andimmediate concerns over theP r e l ~ .' INUfLii,:lion Principles Food Marketed to C ~ d t e n , by ~ e - ~ ~ c y . .Wodting ': We. SIJroneJ,y urge you to wrthdmw these overreaching, and pnnClplesthat blat.ant1y ,discriniiliate*gainst an industry that has made extensive voluatmy strides over theyears to advertising1to children..The i i ~ t gul&lines represent an alanning regulatory overreach on the part 0f members of the ~ t wditing G r o u p ~ As you know, the FY 2009 Omnibus AppropriatioD8 Act difected theJIfIDA, F1C, CDC) and FTC to complete a study and to provide reeommen.dations

in heform tfltf:' Congress. However, for reasons that reJilain llflc,ear, the IliteragenCY W-01'k.iJtg!G!nI1,P' fj . ' to complete the study or deliver a report, but instead proceeded to propose sweeping . etiIJg guidelines. While the principles put forth by the :rntm'aaency W o r k i n g , ~ ; .'are ' i f J l ~ " they are still cause for concern as they appear to be an a.ttc;1npt toregtilate ab , :congn;t!isioUal action. At a time of budget constraints and competing ageneypriorities, sidjGuhllirtg w!leam that valuable agency resources have been diverte4 to'seekobjeetives . jyond rihe iiIltentofCongress. ! I . i i', Un* diese ~ p o s e d nutrition standards, D10st food and beverage preducts manufacturedinthe state a f ~ , ' , a could no longer be marketed to children and teens. In 841ditioll, theInteragency.['WtMrldnl flJroup proposed .marketing restrictions 'have the potential to impede the__==~ , l C O u n u . n i t y involvement of many of Pennsylvania's leading fuod andbeV( ?,e cd " .es, c:spe(jfially those that manufacture and market the vast majorityofehocolateand tat: ' . netiy saId in the United States. By broadly defining marketUlgto include

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~ g , ~ ' llt-of-s4ie d!t;plays, sponsorships well as television, radio, printand o n ~ l i n e media, ce aMes wOilld not be pemutted to use eqwty charactets or sports heroes on 'manypackages ~ u 1 d nQilonger design and market seasonal shaped and seasonal wrappedproducts, Slibh) as choqolate Easter Bunnies and chocolate Santas.i ! .In a4di!tion. lumting the ability ofcompanies or brands to sponsor local and nationalevents and teans. especially when those sponsorships would be visible to teen audiences,would imp.t.t onty.major entertainment events, but also and perhaps more imPot'tantly,remove one!btttle w a ~ small businesses lend their support to communities. Intustry has .made great Strides 011: "vemsing through self regulation. We urge you ail to examine theChildren's and! ~ e ~ e Advertising Initiative and the enOImOUS progress mde over thepast s e v e r a l ! ~ . . i

the need to address the growing trend:efcbHdhood obesitY, foodmarketing i oidy one aspeitt ofthe larger puzzle. Lack ofphysical activity, unheaItlily eatinghabits, g e n ~ c l I ~ and S4Cialilfactors, such as socioeconomic status, are additional contributingfactors of ~ l d t a O o d i i " . accordingto the Department ofHealth and Human Services. .IronicaJIy, tile. gui .. :ncs1would restrict companies efforts to help improve physical fitness intheir local mbIs, by . bi1:dlting them from .sponsoring school and community-based athleticprograms.

It is ~ n s i 1 M e put forth a se t of industry guidelines that inherently contradictfederal P O i i = ~ d ' are not IIBsed on sufficient research and analysis. For these reasons we urgeyou to with .. 'the Prelintlnary Proposed Nutrition Principles to Food Marketed to Childrenand P ~ i the o o ~ s s i o n a 1 direction to complete the study required by Congress andcomply w i t l i l ~ u t i , I V " Order 13653 by assessing the cost ofthe proposed marketing restrictions,ensuring t h a ~ t s i j-listify the costs, and clearly demoastrating that the proposed restrictionswill help codsumers b ~ l d iealthy diets, based on objective science.Sincerely,

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