Japan's Takeda wins worst product award

Japanese pharmaceuticals company Takeda swept aside Coca-Cola, Kellogg's and Mattel to win the top Bad Product award from a 220-member international federation of consumer advocacy organizations. The winners were announced in Sydney on Monday at the annual congress of Consumers International (CI). "These multi-billion-dollar companies are global brands with a responsibility to be honest, accountable and responsible," CI director-general Richard Lloyd said in a statement. Takeda led the field because it marketed sleeping pills to children. Coca-Cola was pinged for bottling water from the tap and selling it under the brand name Dasani. Kellogg's was mentioned for using cartoon characters to advertise sugar-laden cereals and Mattel was named over its global recall of 21 million products. On the first day of the congress, speakers called for a ban on all soft drink marketing to children under 16. Bruce Silverglade, from the US Centre for Science in the Public Interest, told fellow delegates that "liquid candy" had flooded the global market. Silverglade said companies should "cease the marketing of all sugar-laden beverages to children under 16, including print and broadcast advertising, product placement, the internet, mobile phones, athletic sponsorship, signage, packaging promotions, merchandising and other means." dpa sa jh