Involvement of the food industry in nutrition conferences in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Objective: Identify and characterise the food industry’s involvement in nutrition and dietetics national and regional events in Latin America and the Caribbean. Design: Between February and April 2020, we conducted desk-based searches for nutrition and dietetics events held in the region between January 2018 and December 2019. Online freely accessible, publicly available information was collected on the involvement of the food industry through: sponsorship of events; sponsorship of sessions; speakers from the food industry; scholarships, fellowship, grants, awards and other prizes and; exhibition space/booths. Setting: Nutrition and dietetics events in Latin America and the Caribbean. Results: Thirty-one events held in twenty countries of the region had information publicly available online at the period of data collection. There was a lack of transparency on the involvement of industry actors in these events. When information was publicly available, we found that a total of ninety-two food industry actors sponsored 88 % of these events. Conclusions: There is a mostly unreported, but likely extensive, involvement of food industry actors in nutrition and dietetics events in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Global evidence of persistent violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast‐milk Substitutes: A systematic scoping review

“…When a funding source was disclosed, it was most commonly a philanthropic foundation ( n = 32). No study disclosed major funding from a company producing BMS; two studies noted funding in the form of an individual research grant from the industry to one of the researchers (Mialon et al, 2021) and part‐funding of another study (Popkin et al, 1990); these two studies were included in the review.…”

“…Marketing activities in health care settings and through health workers were numerous with many studies reporting more than one type of Code violation. For example, marketing activities related to scholarships, sponsorship of conferences and other events, or using a health facility to hold a marketing event were reported in country‐specific studies from Chile (Achurra & Salinas, 1993; Departamento de Nutrición, F. d. M., Universidad de Chile & PAHO, 2017), Ecuador (Bertha & Caicedo‐Borrás, 2016; Caicedo‐Borrás et al, 2021), Curacao (Kharade, 2019), Brazil (Rea & Toma, 2000) and Uruguay (Ministerio de Salud Organización Panamericana de la Salud & UNICEF, 2019), plus a multi‐country study from Latin America and South America (Mialon et al, 2021); and country‐specific studies from South Africa (Muravha, 2014), Uganda (IGBM et al, 2005; Ministry of Health UNICEF & IBFAN Uganda, 2011), Nigeria (Brewer et al, 2018), Cote d'Ivoire (Emerson et al, 2021); as well as reported in studies from Thailand (Cetthakrikul et al, 2014), Indonesia (Asosisasi Ibu Menyusui Indonesia [AIMI], 2021), Philippines (B. K. Brewer et al, 2021), Vietnam (Nguyen et al, 2021), Pakistan (Salasibew et al, 2008) and India (Gupta, 2021). These marketing activities were also found in studies carried out in 14 countries (Ching et al, 2021), 5 continents (Grummer‐Strawn et al, 2019), 3 continents (Hastings et al, 2020), and in many countries included in the Breaking the Rules reports (Yeong & Allain, 2001, 2004).…”

“…(Ministerio de Salud Organización Panamericana de la Salud & UNICEF, 2019), plus a multi-country study from Latin America and South America (Mialon et al, 2021); and country-specific studies from South Africa (Muravha, 2014), Uganda (IGBM et al, 2005; Ministry of Health UNICEF & IBFAN Uganda, 2011), Nigeria (Brewer et al, 2018), Cote d'Ivoire (Emerson et al, 2021); as well as reported in studies from Thailand (Cetthakrikul et al, 2014), Indonesia (Asosisasi Ibu Menyusui Indonesia [AIMI], 2021), Philippines (B. K. , Vietnam (Nguyen et al, 2021), Pakistan (Salasibew et al, 2008) and India (Gupta, 2021). These marketing activities were also found in studies carried out in 14 countries (Ching et al, 2021), 5 continents (Grummer-Strawn et al, 2019, 3 continents (Hastings et al, 2020), and in many countries included in the Breaking the Rules reports (Yeong & Allain, 2001, 2004.…”

Ultra-Processed Profits: The Political Economy of Countering the Global Spread of Ultra-Processed Foods – A Synthesis Review on the Market and Political Practices of Transnational Food Corporations and Strategic Public Health Responses

“…84,85 Capturing Science -Fostering Favourable Knowledge Environments Big Food engages in evidence shaping to make governments disregard legitimate science. 18,86 Tactics used include funding research that seeks to obscure public health evidence, disseminating data that favours industry, using unpublished evidence to obstruct policy, hosting scientific events, 87 and criticising evidence to emphasise complexity or uncertainty. 88 These strategies were used in China, where the industryfunded research organisation International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) has facilitated industry involvement in 'scientific' research and events as well as having successfully lobbied the Chinese government to reframe its obesity policy.…”

Untitled

“…El 88 % de los eventos académicos en nutrición y dietética, que se celebraron entre enero de 2018 y diciembre de 2019 en Latinoamérica y el Caribe, contó con algún tipo de patrocinio por la industria alimentaria, principalmente los de ponentes, destacando que estos patrocinios no son transparentados (54) . La participación de la industria alimentaria en congresos puede modificar el abordaje de las temáticas y discusiones clave.…”