Abstract
Background: The importance of the international food regulatory system to global health, is often overlooked. There are calls to reform this system to promote healthy and sustainable food systems centred on the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the United Nation’s (UN’s) standard-setting body. Yet this presents a significant political challenge, given Codex has historically prioritized food safety risks over wider harms to public health, and is dominated by powerful food exporting nations and industry groups with a primary interest in trade expansion. To better understand this challenge, we examine who participates and contests Codex standards, using the development of the new Guidelines on Front-of-pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) as a case study. Methods: The study involved: (i) collecting Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) documents (2016-2023); (ii) identification, categorization, and enumeration of actors involved in the development of the Guidelines; and (iii) guided by a constructivist framework, analysis of how actors framed and contested key provisions of the Guidelines. Results: Country representation was skewed towards high-income (47.9%). Member state delegations were dominated by non-health ministries (59.8%) and industry actors (16.1%). Industry actors comprised the large majority of observers (84.2%) and civil society actors representing public health interests the least (12.2%). Commercial actors used frames supporting positive FOPNL messages (eg, low in salt) opposing negative ones (eg, “high-in” sugar warnings) and called for product exemptions (eg, sports foods and baby foods). Public health actors used frames supporting simplified FOPNL to reduce consumer confusion, that hold up public health goals, and prevent inappropriate marketing. Conclusion: Participation in the Guidelines development process suggests stronger preferences for trade facilitation and commerce over public health. Ambitions to reform the international food regulatory system may require an examination of who participates and how to address this asymmetrical representation of interests. These results suggest the need to greatly strengthen public health representation at Codex.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-18 |
Journal | International Journal of Health Policy and Management |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14 Oct 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2024 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was supported by funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, as part of a wider body of work on ultra-processed foods and human health. PB declares funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to support research, travel and conference attendance relating to the programme of work related to this manuscript, and from an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship award (Project #FT220100690) and a Sydney Horizon Fellowship funded by the University of Sydney.
Keywords
- Codex
- Conflicts of Interest
- Food Regulation
- Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling
- Infants and Young Children
- Public Health
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Leadership and Management
- Health(social science)
- Health Policy
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
- Health Information Management