Four of the major exponents of Big Food still produce predominantly unbalanced foods. An investigation by World Action on Salt, Sugar & Health (WASSH) in collaboration with ShareAction, a responsible investment NGO, analyzes the phenomenon and warns that this reckless business is beginning to alert even large international investors. (1)
In fact, to counter the epidemic of obesity and noncommunicable diseases, governments are introducing tools to improve people’s diets. And for those who persist in producing nutritionally unbalanced foods (HFSS, high in fat, sugar and salt), economic as well as reputational damage is expected.
Big Food‘s unbalanced foods, research finds.
The WASSH study evaluated 2,346 foods and beverages produced by the giants Danone, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, and Unilever in three of their largest markets: Australia, France, and Mexico.
The identification of unbalanced foods has been achieved by using the tools set up by governments to inform the population through labels, namelywarning labels and the various forms of FOP, front-on-pack nutrition labeling. (2) In particular.
- Health Star Rating (HSR), the FoP labeling operating on a voluntary basis in Australia and New Zealand since June 2014, which indicates nutritional profile through stars,
NutriScore
, the most widely used FoP label in Europe, but opposed by the Italian government even through ‘institutional’ dissemination of fake news, as just done by the Minister of Agriculture. (3)- Warning Labels. Like Chile in 2016 and other Latin American countries, Mexico adopted in March 2020 a new system of mandatory warning labels based on the Latin American WL, with 5 octagons of warnings on the front of the package for HFSS food and beverages.
The result of the research
Using the alert tools described, the analysis shows a high presence of imbalanced foods marketed by the five Big Food giants monitored. (4)
The most ‘polluted’ market is Australia, where the concentration of branded HFSS foods from the five giants reaches 65 percent. This is followed by France (63 percent) and Mexico (60 percent).
Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Nestlé and Unilever performed poorly in all three markets, with more than half of their food offerings classified as HFSS.
At the extremes we find
- Kraft Heinz resulting in the worst brand. Of its products, all 11 sold in Mexico and 51 (93%) marketed in France are classified as unhealthy.
- Danone emerging as improving, with ‘only’ 35 percent nutritionally unbalanced foods.
The role of health policies
The study conducted on markets in Australia, Mexico and France once again shows that global food and beverage brands continue to produce irresponsibly, fueling the obesity epidemic. The only useful lever for a reversal through reformulation lies in government measures to limit the pervasiveness of imbalanced foods.
‘ Foodcompanies and investors who fail to adapt to increasing government regulation to improve health and growing public demand for healthier products face financial risks and will eventually lose share,’ points out Holly Gabriel, consumer health campaign manager at ShareAction.
Continuing to pose as producers who are indifferent to the emergence of obesity and other noncommunicable diseases will first lose market share, then reputation.
According to the authors of the study, in November 2022, investors representing $5 trillion in assets under management, including Actiam, Groupe La Française, Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Foundation, Legal & General Investment Management, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation, Rathbone Greenbank Investment Management, and Grünfin, wrote to global food manufacturers including Danone, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, and Nestlé to ask them to improve disclosure and set targets to increase the healthiness of their sales.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) WASSH, ShareAction. World’s biggest food manufacturers over reliant on sales of unhealthy foods. 3.3.23 https://www.worldactiononsalt.com/media/action-on-salt/WASSHShareAction-Summary-Report-(1).pdf
(2) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. European Commission, research confirms NutriScore approach. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 14.9.22
(3) Dario Dongo. NutriScore professor Serge Hercberg corrects Italian minister’s fake news. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.3.23
(4) Marta Strinati. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
- Nestlé to Ferrero. Almost all baby foods are harmful. 3.9.21
- Baby food, 68% is junk food. European research. 30.10.19
- Nestlé acknowledges that 60 percent of its products are unhealthy. 1.6.21
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
