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Benchmarking the nutrition-related policies and commitments of major food companies in Australia, 2018

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journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-18, 22:43 authored by Gary SacksGary Sacks, E Robinson, Adrian CameronAdrian Cameron, L Vanderlee, S Vandevijvere, B Swinburn
The food industry has an important role to play in efforts to improve population diets. This study aimed to benchmark the comprehensiveness, specificity and transparency of nutrition-related policies and commitments of major food companies in Australia. In 2018, we applied the Business Impact Assessment on Obesity and Population Level Nutrition (BIA-Obesity) tool and process to quantitatively assess company policies across six domains. Thirty-four companies operating in Australia were assessed, including the largest packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers (n = 19), supermarkets (n = 4) and quick-service restaurants (n = 11). Publicly available company information was collected, supplemented by information gathered through engagement with company representatives. Sixteen out of 34 companies (47%) engaged with data collection processes. Company scores ranged from 3/100 to 71/100 (median: 40.5/100), with substantial variation by sector, company and domain. This study demonstrated that, while some food companies had made commitments to address population nutrition and obesity-related issues, the overall response from the food industry fell short of global benchmarks of good practice. Future studies should assess both company policies and practices. In the absence of stronger industry action, government regulations, such as mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and restrictions on unhealthy food marketing, are urgently needed.

History

Journal

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Volume

17

Article number

ARTN 6118

Pagination

1-23

Location

Switzerland

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

1661-7827

eISSN

1660-4601

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

17

Publisher

MDPI