ASC compliance for food & beverage ads in the Philippines

Food and beverage is one of the heaviest advertising categories in the Philippines, and one of the most-screened by the Ad Standards Council. Between competing flavor claims, nutritional positioning, child appeal, and FDA jurisdiction, F&B ads run into more compliance issues per launch than almost any other category.

This is the working playbook for the issues we see most often when agencies pre-screen F&B creative with AdScan.

FDA registration is upstream of ASC review

Before the ASC reviews creative, your product must be properly registered with the FDA Philippines. The Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) dictates what you can and can't claim on pack and in advertising. Two patterns we see fail:

• The CPR lists a generic functional claim ("source of calcium") but the ad promises something more specific ("builds strong bones"). The stricter advertising claim isn't supported.
• The product is registered as a regular food product but marketed with implied health benefits that would require a Functional Food or Food-Drug registration.

Fix the registration before the creative brief — not after a rejection.

Nutritional and health claims

Quantitative claims need numbers

"Low fat," "high protein," "reduced sugar," "good source of." Each of these has a numerical threshold defined in FDA regulations. If your product meets the threshold, the claim is fine — but the ad must reflect the per-serving basis, not per 100g, and the claim must match what's on the approved label.

Implied health benefits are riskier than explicit ones

Explicit claims ("contains vitamin D") are screened against the certificate. Implied claims are harder to navigate. A child gaining focus in school after drinking the product, an athlete recovering after a sports drink, a senior walking briskly after a supplement — these visuals carry an implied claim that must be substantiated even if the voiceover doesn't say the words.

Children in food ads

The ASC and DOH co-developed a children's advertising framework that adds restrictions on top of the general Code. Specifically:

• Foods classified as HFSS (high in fat, salt, or sugar) face additional restrictions when targeted to children under 16.
• Ads cannot position the product as something kids should pressure parents to buy.
• Portion sizes shown must be appropriate for the child shown.
• Child talents need permits; their on-screen actions cannot suggest unsafe behavior.

Taste and quality comparisons

"Tastes better than" and "preferred over" need verifiable consumer research that:

• Was conducted by a credible third party (not a brand tracker).
• Used a representative sample (size, demographics, geography) and is recent.
• Uses methodology the ASC will accept.

Stack-vs-competitor product shots generally need consent from the competitor brand, or the competitor product must be visually anonymized.

Beverage-specific issues

Coffee, tea, and "energy"

Caffeine and energy claims need to align with category definitions. "Energy drink" is a regulated descriptor; "with energy" is softer but still requires substantiation of the energy ingredient and its functional contribution.

Dairy and milk

The Milk Code restricts marketing of breast-milk substitutes for infants under 12 months. Follow-on formula and toddler products have additional disclosure requirements. The Milk Code is enforced by IAC (Inter-Agency Committee), separate from the ASC — but ASC will decline screening if Milk Code requirements aren't met.

Alcoholic beverages

Alcohol has its own category rules. See our alcohol advertising guide.

Common reasons F&B ads get rejected

1. Health claim doesn't match the CPR-approved indication.
2. Comparative claim with no substantiating research, or with competitor branding visible.
3. Implied transformation (kids growing taller, seniors gaining mobility) without scientific backing.
4. Child talent issues — missing permits, inappropriate behavior, HFSS rules.
5. Endorser issues — celebrity claims about personal use that aren't supported, or testimonials that read as claims.

What to pre-screen before submission

Before sending an F&B ad to the ASC, run it through this checklist:

• FDA CPR matches every claim in the ad.
• Nutritional descriptors match labeled per-serving values.
• All comparative claims have third-party research, not tracker data.
• Child casting has permits; HFSS rules are checked.
• Endorser contracts and usage permissions are filed.
• The Milk Code (if dairy/infant) and BIR sin-tax disclosures (if applicable) are correctly applied.

AdScan flags these patterns when you upload F&B creatives. Try it on your next ad — first two scans are free.