‘We must have a sufficient level of profitability’: food industry submissions to the French parliamentary inquiry on industrial food

Abstract

ABSTRACT In March 2018, the French parliament launched an inquiry into industrial food and its ‘nutritional quality, role in the emergence of chronic diseases, and the social and environmental impact of its origin’. Our aim was to analyse the food industry’s submissions to the inquiry, particularly discussions around the role that the food industry has played in the non-communicable disease (NCD) epidemic. We studied the submissions of 23 food industry actors. We generated three main themes from our analysis: i) a redefinition of the nature and activities of the food industry, where food industry actors, for example presented themselves as part of the French culture and as experts on the science of diet and health; ii) an industry framing of the problem, with, for example, a focus on other actors in the industry and on consumers; and iii) industry preferred solutions in response to the NCD epidemic, such as reformulation, education or personal responsibility. We conclude that food industry actors’ rhetoric in their submissions to the inquiry could have a potentially negative influence on the development of public health policies in France: it could slow the policy-making process and could lead to the adoption of ineffective solutions. Our findings could help policy makers, public health professionals and the public to better distinguish between the narratives that are of valid relevance for public health from those that merely serve the interests of food industry actors.