Food advertising, especially on packaging, impacts children’s choices. Food companies
make different claims on packaging as a marketing techniques to make their products more appealing,
enhancing their perceived healthiness, even in unhealthy products. Although the use of some claims
is regulated, there are legal loopholes that could confuse young consumers and that concern global
authorities. To shed light on the matter, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of
the performance of all types of claims made by food companies in food products targeting children.
We examined 458 products from Spanish markets in two periods through a cross-sectional content
analysis. Our findings reveal that existing policies are working due to the decrease in nutrition
claims, but there is a growth in soft claims that are unregulated and potentially confusing and
attractive to children. Considering that most of the products analyzed are unhealthy, this emphasizes
the importance of implementing stricter regulations to create a healthier and more reliable food
environment for children