Despite existing self-regulation adopted by the food processing industry in 2009, television food advertisements promoting the so-called junk foods still make their way to considerable number of Aussie children, a new study said.

According to the new Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) report conducted under the auspices of the South Australian state government, voluntary decrease being observed by industry players appears inefficient in limiting the junk food ads seen by kids.

While the study conceded that TV ads targeting children during prime time telecasts saw considerable reductions during the past two years, many of these marketing ploys still filter through time blocks, in which parents were theoretically watching with their young kids.

In one way or another, the ads, notwithstanding parents' supervision, affect these children, the CSIRO report said.

In a reaction, advocacy group Obesity Policy Coalition has maintained that authorities need to institute stricter measures that would compel food industry players to toe the lines and implement much tougher self-policing policies in terms of promoting their products, especially to the vulnerable viewing sectors such as children.

"We have kids who are being targeted in ... popular programs, through sport, through the internet. It's very pervasive," according to Obesity Policy Coalition spokeswoman Jane Martin, who added that food companies need to take up their share of social responsibility.

"Parents are really sick of having all the responsibility. It's really time that industry stepped up and took action that would really adequately protect children," Martin was reported by ABC as saying.

However, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) countered the implications suggested in the CSIRO report and insisted that the industry's self-regulation policy has been quite effective in achieving its defined goals.

Citing research findings from independent sources, the council pointed to measly number of TV ads that explicitly entice children to consume junk foods, which the industry group argued should remain the norm as further restrictions on product marketing would lead to unnecessary censorship.

On its part, the SA government called on industry players to take a second look on the report and take on the necessary adjustments lest they attract the full force of regulatory supervision.

"They should show some responsible leadership and make changes themselves ... and unless they do that, governments will take action and regulate, that's the reality of it," SA Health Minister John Hill told ABC.