The action is being considered by a group of public bodies spearheaded by the National Heart Forum, whose members include: the British Heart Foundation and the British Medical Association; the National Union of Teachers; the National Children's Bureau; and Which?; along with a number of health, medical and consumer organisations.
The forum slammed the media regulator for what it said is putting the broadcast industry's profits before children's health.
The group said it has no option but to take Ofcom to a process of "judicial review", effectively preparing court action against the regulator. The heart charity claims that it is "unlawful and conspicuously unfair of the regulator to exclude from full and fair consideration a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising consultation in its current consultation on TV food advertising to children".
According to the alliance, Ofcom stated that it would be "disproportionate" to fully and properly consult on excluding junk food advertising before the 9pm watershed. The National Heart Forum has now attacked Ofcom's decision and stated that the "reasoning for excluding the 9pm option is skewed, unfair and relies on misquoting statistical evidence".
Jane Landon, deputy chief executive of the National Heart Forum, said: "We are dismayed that Ofcom has weighed industry profits against children's health, compromised this important consultation and forced us to take this unprecedented step of seeking a fair consultation through the courts.
Landon said that the debate should involve a fair and open consultation.
She said: "What we are asking Ofcom to do is to consider the 9pm watershed option fairly and equally alongside the far more limited options it has consulted on. This will ensure that parents know the full range of possibilities and Ofcom can hear their views. We are not asking for much, but we believe a fair and open consultation is essential to ensure that Ofcom reaches the right decision at the end of the consultation process."
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