What principles should guide interactions between population health researchers and the food industry? Systematic scoping review of peer‐reviewed and grey literature

Abstract

Summary There is no explicit consensus amongst population health researchers regarding what constitutes acceptable or effective interactions with the food industry. This has led to confusion and disagreements over conflicts of interest, which can undermine the integrity of science. To clarify this issue, we aimed to systematically identify the key principles developed by population health researchers to prevent or minimize conflicts of interest when interacting with the food industry. Databases of peer‐reviewed literature were searched. In addition, an advanced Google search, a request to experts seeking related documents, and hand searching of references were undertaken. Thematic analysis of the extracted data was undertaken. We examined 54 eligible documents describing guidelines for population health researchers when interacting with the food industry. Fifty‐six principles were identified and synthesized in five themes. There were high levels of agreement in themes relating to research governance, transparency, and publication but less agreement and guidance on how principles should be applied in relation to funding and risk assessment. There is agreement on some of the general principles for preventing and minimizing conflicts of interests for population health researchers when interacting with the food industry. However, for issues such as assessing the appropriateness of an industry partner, greater clarity and consensus are required.

Food Industry Donations to Academic Programs: A Cross-Sectional Examination of the Extent of Publicly Available Data

“…The strengths of our study include the large number of companies in our sample and our extensive data collection methods, which enabled us to generate new insights on the types of academic programs that receive donations (e.g., preschools, universities) and create a comprehensive catalogue of reasons for donations among the 1667 donations that were earmarked for a specific purpose. In contrast, most previous studies on food companies' contributions to academia have largely been limited to case studies [19], studies with small samples [13,27], commentaries [8,9,22,28,29], or summaries of academic institutions' recommendations regarding the management of conflicts of interest [38].…”

What role should the commercial food system play in promoting health through better diet?

“…The food industry needs to contribute to such efforts, but it will be vital to ensure that, in doing so, conflicts of interest arising from its potential for commercial gain are managed. Frameworks to guide governance of interactions between researchers and commercial organisations are being developed 8384…”

Conflict of interest in nutrition research: an editorial perspective

“…So how do we, as editors, progress the outcomes of research funded by the food and related industries, co-written with their scientists, or solely from such organizations? The answers to these questions are not straight forward [6][7][8], and need consensus across the discipline. Most editors when presented with a paper, whether with or without a COI, will treat the methods, raw data collected, and analysis, as honest.…”