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Brussels, 19 September 2012: Royal FrieslandCampina, one of the leading international dairy companies, has joined the EU Pledge initiative on food marketing to children. The company joins 19 other major global food brand owners, representing over 80% of EU food and beverage advertising spend, by committing to change what they advertise to children in Europe.

The EU Pledge initiative is a voluntary commitment by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The Platform was set up by the European Commission in 2005 in order to foster coordinated action by a variety of sectors in order to tackle overweight and obesity in Europe.

EU Pledge membership requires companies to commit to:

• No food and beverage advertising to children under 12 years, except for products which fulfill specific nutrition criteria based on accepted scientific evidence and/or applicable national and international dietary guidelines.
• No communication related to products in primary schools, except where specifically requested by, or agreed with, the school administration for educational purposes.

The EU Pledge was strengthened as of 1 January 2012, in two ways:

• The definition of “advertising to children under 12 years” has been strengthened to cover audiences with 35% of more children under 12, from 50%.
• The commitment has been extended to apply to company-owned websites, in addition to third-party internet advertising.

By joining the EU Pledge, Royal FrieslandCampina commits to applying these standards across the EU by the end of 2012. In addition, Royal FrieslandCampina will take part in the EU Pledge third party monitoring programme undertaken annually by the EU Pledge. Member companies' marketing practices are audited independently by Accenture Media Sciences and BDRC Continental, and overall results are published annually at www.eu-pledge.eu.

“We are delighted to become part of the EU Pledge”, said Freek Rijna, COO, Royal FrieslandCampina Consumer Products Europe, “This step will lend weight and credibility to our long-standing commitment to promoting balanced diets and healthy lifestyles, including through our marketing communications.”

Said Stephan Loerke, Managing Director of the World Federation of Advertisers: “We welcome Royal FrieslandCampina on board. The value of the EU Pledge has been recognised by the European Commission for the real and measurable change it has made in terms of what foods are advertised to children. The growing ranks of the EU Pledge initiative are testament to the initiative's success in rallying responsible food and beverage advertisers around a common vision, which contributes to the EU's public health goals.”

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Notes for editors:

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is the voice of marketers worldwide, representing 90% of global marketing communications spend- roughly US$700 billion per annum- through a unique, global network of the world's biggest markets and biggest marketers. WFA's champions responsible and effective marketing communications worldwide. More information at www.wfanet.org

The EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health is a forum for European-level organisations, ranging from the food industry to consumer protection NGOs, willing to commit to tackling current trends in diet and physical activity (95 KB). The Platform is composed of the following members (133 KB). The idea is that, led by the Commission, the platform will provide an example of coordinated action on this problem by different parts of society that will encourage national, regional or local initiatives across Europe. More information here.

Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. provides hundreds of millions of people all over the world with healthy food that is rich in valuable nutrients. Its product range consists of dairy drinks, baby and infant food, cheese, butter, cream, desserts and dairy-based functional ingredients. Alongside consumer products, FrieslandCampina also supplies products to professional customers active in the baking and hospital sectors, to the food industry and to the pharmaceutical sector. Based on the 2011 figures, the annual revenue of Royal FrieslandCampina amounts to almost 9.6 billion euros. The company employs some 19,000 people and operates over 100 production facilities and sales offices in 26 countries. FrieslandCampina has concentrated its commercial activities in four business groups: Consumer Products Europe; Consumer Products International; Cheese, Butter & Milkpowder and Ingredients. Well-known FrieslandCampina brands are Campina, Chocomel, Fristi, Friesche Vlag, Mona, Optimel, Vifit, Milner, Frico, Buttergold, Valess, Appelsientje, DubbelFriss, CoolBest, Landliebe, Fruttis, Joyvalle, Yazoo, Milli Mia, Pöttyös, Napolact, NoyNoy, Dutch Lady, Frisian Flag, Foremost, Peak, Rainbow, DMV, Kievit, Domo, Creamy Creation and Nutrifeed. Royal FrieslandCampina is owned by Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina U.A., which has 14,400 member dairy farms in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. More information: www.frieslandcampina.com






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