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Systematic examination of publiclyavailable information reveals the diverse and extensive corporate political activity of the food industry in Australia

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Version 2 2024-06-04, 01:17
Version 1 2016-05-03, 15:18
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-17, 18:12 authored by M Mialon, B Swinburn, Steven AllenderSteven Allender, Gary SacksGary Sacks
Abstract Background The political influence of the food industry, referred to as corporate political activity (CPA), represents a potential barrier to the development and implementation of effective public health policies for non-communicable diseases prevention. This paper reports on the feasibility and limitations of using publicly-available information to identify and monitor the CPA of the food industry in Australia. Methods A systematic search was conducted for information from food industry, government and other publicly-available data sources in Australia. Data was collected in relation to five key food industry actors: the Australian Food and Grocery Council; Coca Cola; McDonald’s; Nestle; and Woolworths, for the period January 2012 to February 2015. Data analysis was guided by an existing framework for classifying CPA strategies of the food industry. Results The selected food industry actors used multiple CPA strategies, with ‘information and messaging’ and ‘constituency building’ strategies most prominent. Conclusions The systematic analysis of publicly-available information over a limited period was able to identify diverse and extensive CPA strategies of the food industry in Australia. This approach can contribute to accountability mechanisms for NCD prevention.

History

Journal

BMC Public Health

Volume

16

Season

Article Number : 283

Article number

ARTN 283

Location

England

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

1471-2458

eISSN

1471-2458

Language

English

Publication classification

C Journal article, C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2016, BioMed Central

Issue

1

Publisher

BMC