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Why Ministry of Health wants this billboard pulled down


The Health Ministry has instructed a confectionery company to pull down an advertisement that has caused an uproar on social media.

Through the department of Public Health, the Company, Nuvita Biscuits has been ordered to take down the advert, which a nutritional expert has said contained misleading nutritional claims.

The advert about cookies baked by the Nuvita has been the source of online debate since the billboard was mounted a week ago.

In the billboard, the company used a picture of cookies wrapped in a bow with the message “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand”.

However, social media users felt that the statement on the billboard was misleading since cookies alone are not a source of balanced diet.

BALANCED DIET

“You cannot put balanced diet and cookies in the same sentence… Bring down this billboard,” wrote one Facebook user.

Nutritionists also emphasized that the information passed through the billboard was simple incorrect.

“Even if the cookies have all the nutrients, it still does not qualify to be a balanced diet because balanced diets is about choosing food from different food groups, combining them and eating them thrice a day to get all the necessary nutritional values,” explained Gladys Mugambi, who heads the Kenya Nutrition and Dietetics Unit.

As a result of the uproar, the head of the department of public health Dr kepha Ombacho on Wednesday instructed county public health officers to ensure that the billboard is removed as it is against the provision of the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substance Act.

“This claim has not been cleared for advertisement and therefore such advert must be brought down immediately and legal action taken against the owners,” noted Dr Ombacho’s circular to county public health officers.