First ever report examines companies’ public commitments Legally binding requirements around nutrition labelling and advertising to children required

Ireland’s food industry could be part of the solution to the health and sustainability crisis in our food system, but are trailing international counterparts, according to a report published today (Wednesday 11th December) by researchers at University College Cork’s (UCC) School of Public Health.
UCC researchers examined statements 35 companies make publicly, for example on their websites or in their annual reports, relating to product formulation, nutrition labelling, and marketing for the nutrition assessment. In the sustainability assessment, the focus is on statements relating to factors such as emissions, packaging, food waste, water use, and product portfolio. The results are contained in Ireland’s first ever report on Business Impact Assessment (BIA) on Obesity and Population-level Nutrition and Business Impact Assessment on Sustainability.

Results

Companies and sectors have the potential of scoring between 0% (very few/no public-facing commitments available) to 100% (comprehensive and transparent public-facing commitments relevant to Ireland available). The results found that Ireland’s food industry is falling short on health and sustainable goals and trail behind their international counterparts.
In the assessment of companies based in Ireland, they were categorised into three industry sectors: food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers, supermarkets and quick service restaurants.

- The manufacturing sector has the highest score with the most publicly available commitments, followed by supermarkets, and then restaurants.
- No company scored higher than 60% on either nutrition or sustainability, and many companies score much lower.
- This highlights that much the companies could do more to make healthy and sustainable food choices more accessible, affordable, and appealing for everyone, including those on low incomes or living in disadvantaged areas.


How food businesses shape what we choose to eat

Unhealthy diet is one of the leading causes of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide with increased consumption of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods leading to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and other harmful conditions, including overweight and obesity. A compelling case has now been made that this increased consumption is driven by changes in the food environment, rather than by changes to individuals’ values and preferences. NCD’s such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are responsible for the premature death of up to 15 million people (70%) worldwide.
The UCC report highlights how food manufacturers, fast food companies and supermarkets shape the food choices we make every day. As well as advertising, businesses have the power to encourage certain choices and discourage others through price incentives like meal deals and multibuys, product packaging, or shop and restaurant layouts, In the nutrition assessment, researchers consider statements companies make publicly, for example on their websites or in their annual reports, relating to product formulation, nutrition labelling, and marketing. In the sustainability assessment, the focus is on statements relating to factors such as emissions, packaging, food waste, water use, and product portfolio.


Key recommendations
Key recommendations for food companies in the report include:

- Increasing transparency around their policy positions.
- Publicly disclose their commitments and practices in relation to nutrition, health and sustainability.
- Increasing transparency in the domain of environmental compliance.
- Developing and/or disclosing policies tailored to particular national contexts, including Ireland.
- Explaining how their policies align with Food Vision 2030 and the government’s overall sustainability strategy.


Legally binding requirements around nutrition labelling
Dr Janas Harrington, Senior Lecturer and principal investigator of the Food Policy Research Team at UCC’s School of Public Health said: “Unhealthy diets pose a growing threat to population health and to our environments, with increased consumption of high fat, salt and sugar foods leading to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. If we want to reverse these trends, we have to ensure that everybody in Ireland has the opportunity to choose a tasty, wholesome, healthy diet that does not harm the environment.”

Dr Margaret Steele, who led the data collection for the study, says that, while companies can do more, so can government. “Currently, large global corporations have a disproportionate influence on food policy in Ireland and around the world. In certain key respects, everyone is forced to play the game by their rules, including local retailers, producers and other companies who might wish to do things differently. Government can begin to level the playing field between smaller Irish-owned companies and huge global competitors by setting legally binding requirements around things like advertising and nutrition labelling.”

The Business Impact Assessments were developed by the International Network for Food and Obesity / Non-communicable Diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) to map companies’ commitments and policies as they relate to the food environment. These Irish Business Impact Assessments were conducted in Ireland as part of the Horizon Europe project: Food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets (FEAST).