How Nutrition Sensitive Are the Nutrition Policies of New Zealand Food Manufacturers? A Benchmarking Study.

Rebecca Doonan,Penny Field

doi:10.3390/nu9121373

Abstract

Nutrition sensitive policy addresses the underlying determinants of nutrition-related disease and is a powerful tool in reducing the incidence of non-communicable disease. Some members of the food industry have long standing commitments to health-oriented nutrition policies. The aim of this study was to develop and apply a balanced scorecard of nutrition sensitive indicators to the policies of influential New Zealand food and beverage manufacturers and explore factors affecting policy processes. Results: The average nutrition sensitivity score of the twenty influential manufacturers policies was 42 against a benchmark of 75. Some manufacturers performed well whilst others had substantial scope for improvement, the largest variation was in policy development and implementation, whereas nutrition quality was relatively consistent. Manufacturers with written policy (n = 11) scored on average three times higher than their counterparts with verbal policy. The value a manufacturer placed on nutrition influenced whether formal nutrition policies were developed. The reputational risk of failing to deliver on publicly declared nutrition commitments acted as an informal accountability mechanism. We conclude the balanced scorecard offers a useful tool for assessing the nutrition sensitivity of influential food and beverage manufacturers’ policies. Our results provide a baseline for repeat assessments of the nutrition sensitivity of food manufacturers’ policies.

Highlights

Our results provide a baseline for repeat assessments of the nutrition sensitivity of food manufacturers’ policies
Scrutiny of food and beverage (F&B) company actions in relation to health reflects growing recognition of the critical role the private sector plays in tackling global nutrition issues [1,2,3]
Phase one involved the development of a Balanced scorecards (BSC) of nutrition sensitive indicators, in phase two the researcher applied the BSC to manufacturers’ formal and informal nutrition policies, and in phase three semi-structured interviews were conducted with a company representative to explore factors affecting policy-making processes

Summary

Introduction

Scrutiny of food and beverage (F&B) company actions in relation to health reflects growing recognition of the critical role the private sector plays in tackling global nutrition issues [1,2,3].With nearly two billion obese adults globally at an estimated cost of 2 trillion dollars annually, a range of effective strategies for reducing the risk of nutrition-related disease are urgently needed [1,2].Policy stands out as a well-recognised, powerful, cost effective strategy for reversing some of the environmental drivers of nutrition-related disease [3,4,5,6,7].In 2013 the World Health Organisation signalled the private sector’s responsibility for supporting and facilitating healthy lifestyles, with specific recommendations for the food industry [1]. With nearly two billion obese adults globally at an estimated cost of 2 trillion dollars annually, a range of effective strategies for reducing the risk of nutrition-related disease are urgently needed [1,2]. Policy stands out as a well-recognised, powerful, cost effective strategy for reversing some of the environmental drivers of nutrition-related disease [3,4,5,6,7]. In 2013 the World Health Organisation signalled the private sector’s responsibility for supporting and facilitating healthy lifestyles, with specific recommendations for the food industry [1]. The nutrition community, generally remain sceptical of the motives and effectiveness of industry led and regulated policies [12,13]. Kraak et al.’s [14] distinction between responsibility and accountability

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion