Conflicts of interest for members of the US 2020 dietary guidelines advisory committee.

Objectives To measure incidence of conflicts of interest (COI) with food and pharmaceutical industry actors on the advisory committee for the 2020-2025 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and assess the adequacy of current mechanisms to disclose and manage COI among the committee's members. Design We compiled longitudinal data from archival sources on connections between members of the DGA's advisory committee and actors. We hypothesised that these committee members, who oversee the science for the most influential dietary policy in the USA, might have significant COI that would be relevant to their decision making. Disclosure of COI on this committee was recommended in 2017 by the National Academies of Sciences in order to increase transparency and manage bias, but public disclosure of the committee's COI does not appear to have taken place. Setting The committee was composed of twenty experts. Participants None. Results Our analysis found that 95 % of the committee members had COI with the food and/or pharmaceutical industries and that particular actors, including Kellogg, Abbott, Kraft, Mead Johnson, General Mills, Dannon and the International Life Sciences, had connections with multiple members. Research funding and membership of an advisory/executive board jointly accounted for more than 60 % of the total number of COI documented. Conclusions Trustworthy dietary guidelines result from a transparent, objective and science-based, process. Our analysis has shown that the significant and widespread COI on the committee prevent the DGA from achieving the recommended standard for transparency without mechanisms in place to make this information publicly available

Corporations and Health: The Need to Combine Forces to Improve Population Health

The recent concerns raised about commercial determinants of health (CDoH) are not new. Numerous organizations around the world are working on these issues. These groups have emerged in response to specific issues and contexts and bring with them a diversity of interests, worldviews and strategies for change. In creating the 'Governance, Ethics and Conflicts of Interest in Public Health' network in 2018, our hope was to broaden our engagement with other actors advocating for change and strengthen our collective efforts. For academics, this requires moving further beyond the collective comfort zone of peer-reviewed publications, working with the media and those with political expertise, and learning from and supporting other stakeholders with a common vision. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Help or Hindrance? The Alcohol Industry and Alcohol Control in Portugal

The influence of the alcohol industry, also known as “corporate political activity” (CPA), is documented as one of the main barriers in implementing effective alcohol control policies. In Portugal, despite an alcohol consumption above the European average, alcohol control does not feature in the current National Health Plan. The present research aimed to identify and describe the CPA of the alcohol industry in Portugal. Publicly-available data published between January 2018 and April 2019 was extracted from the main websites and social media accounts of alcohol industry trade associations, charities funded by the industry, government, and media. A “Policy Dystopia” framework, used to describe the CPA strategies of the tobacco industry, was adapted and used to perform a qualitative thematic analysis. Both instrumental and discursive strategies were found. The industry works in partnership with health authorities, belonging to the national task force responsible for planning alcohol control policies. Additionally, it emphasizes the role alcohol plays in Portuguese culture as a way to disregard evidence on control policies from other countries. This paper presents the first description of CPA by the alcohol industry in Portugal and provides evidence for the adoption of stricter control policies in the country

AI and new digital technologies have transformed Alcohol and Other Drug Industries lobbying

International audienc

' The company is using the credibility of our profession': exploring experiences and perspectives of registered dietitians from Canada about their interactions with commercial actors using semi-structured interviews

International audienceObjective: To gain insight into the experiences and perspectives of registered dietitians (RD) in Canada regarding their interactions with commercial actors and actions undertaken to manage these interactions.Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews combined with a document analysis.Setting: Quebec, Canada.Participants: RD aged ≥ 18 years (n 18).Results: All participants reported interacting with commercial actors during their careers, such as receiving continuing education provided or sponsored by food companies. RD in Quebec perceive these interactions as either trivial or acceptable, depending on the commercial actor or interaction type. Participants discussed how certain interactions could represent a threat to the credibility and public trust in dietitians, among other risks. They also discussed the benefits of these interactions, such as the possibility for professionals to improve the food supply and public health by sharing their knowledge and expertise. Participants reported ten mechanisms used to manage interactions with commercial actors, such as following a code of ethics (individual level) and policies such as partnerships policy (institutional level). Finally, RD also stressed the need for training and more explicit and specific tools for managing interactions with commercial actors.Conclusions: RD in Quebec, Canada, may engage with commercial actors in their profession and hold nuanced perspectives on this matter. While some measures are in place to regulate these interactions, they are neither standardised nor evaluated for their effectiveness. To maintain the public's trust in RD, promoting awareness and developing training on this issue is essential

Unpacking front-of-pack nutrition labelling research: when the food industry produces ‘science’ as part of its lobbying strategies

The lobbying strategies of the food industry, which seek to undermine the development of regulatory measures intended to improve public health, are increasingly well documented and associated with slow progress in addressing diet-related diseases at national, regional and global levels. These strategies include the creation and dissemination of biased research findings in order to skew evidence in the favour of the industry, and to cast doubt about the harms stemming from its products and practices. Front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FoPNL) provides fertile ground for industry opposition, which we discuss in this commentary.</jats:p

Activités politiques corporatives de l’industrie bioalimentaire pendant la révision du guide alimentaire canadien par Santé Canada

IntroductionNous avons analysé les activités politiques corporatives de l’industrie bioalimentaire pendant le processus de révision du guide alimentaire canadien entre 2016 et 2019. MéthodologieNous avons entrepris une analyse du contenu du site Web de 11 organisations de l’industrie bioalimentaire et des mémoires que 10 d’entre elles ont présentés au Comité permanent de la santé de la Chambre des communes du Canada dans le cadre de la révision du guide alimentaire canadien par le Comité. Les données ont été classées selon un cadre conceptuel préexistant. RésultatsNous avons relevé 366 exemples d’activités politiques utilisées par des organisations de l’industrie bioalimentaire pendant et immédiatement après l’élaboration du guide alimentaire canadien. La plupart des acteurs de l’industrie se sont opposés aux recommandations du guide. Les stratégies les plus utilisées étaient la gestion de l’information (n = 197), pour créer et diffuser de l’information en faveur des positions de l’industrie, et des stratégies discursives (n = 108), pour défendre certains produits alimentaires et promouvoir la position de l’industrie à l’égard du guide alimentaire. Parmi les autres stratégies couramment employées, citons les activités visant à influencer les politiques publiques (n = 40), en obtenant un accès indirect aux décideurs (par exemple par le lobbying) et en participant activement au processus décisionnel du gouvernement, et les activités de gestion de coalition (n = 21), qui consistaient à établir des relations avec des leaders d’opinion et des organisations oeuvrant dans le domaine de la santé. ConclusionLes acteurs de l’industrie bioalimentaire ont utilisé de nombreuses stratégies pour mener des activités politiques corporatives pendant la révision du guide alimentaire canadien. Il est important de continuer à documenter les activités politiques menées par les organisations de l’industrie bioalimentaire pour comprendre si et comment elles façonnent l’élaboration des politiques publiques au Canada et ailleurs

The bio-food industry’s corporate political activity during Health Canada’s revision of Canada’s food guide

IntroductionWe analyzed the bio-food industry’s corporate political activity (CPA) during the revisions of Canada’s food guide between 2016 and 2019. MethodsWe undertook a content analysis of the websites of 11 bio-food industry organizations and of the briefs that 10 of them submitted to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, as part of this Committee’s review of the food guide. Data were classified according to an existing conceptual framework. ResultsWe identified 366 examples of CPA used by the bio-food industry during and immediately after the development of the food guide. Most of the industry actors opposed the guide’s recommendations. The most common CPA strategies were information management (n = 197), used to create and disseminate information in industry’s favour, and discursive strategies (n = 108), used to defend food products and promote the industry’s position regarding the food guide. Influencing public policy (n = 40), by gaining indirect access to policy makers (e.g. through lobbying) and becoming active in government decision-making, as well as coalition management (n = 21), by establishing relationships with opinion leaders and health organizations, were also common strategies. ConclusionBio-food industry actors used many different CPA strategies during the revisions of the food guide. It is important to continue to document the bio-food industry’s CPA to understand whether and how this is shaping public policy development in Canada and elsewhere