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Are Goldfish crackers junk food?

Under proposed new nutritional guidelines, the federal government says yes, and it does not want food like the crackers advertised to children because they contain too much saturated fat and salt and are made from white flour.

But food makers say the fish-shaped treats, made by Campbell Soup’s Pepperidge Farm division, belong on a list of healthful foods that are fine to market to children.

The seeming tempest in a fishbowl is typical of a growing tug of war as government and public health advocates tighten pressure on the food industry to fight childhood obesity by making and marketing healthier products.

In the latest example, a group of food manufacturers and restaurant chains announced Thursday that they would revise a set of voluntary standards for cereals, snacks and other foods that they market to children so as to reduce sugars, fats and other ingredients that are unhealthful in large amounts.