Article2015

Reformulation, fortification and functionalization: Big Food corporations’ nutritional engineering and marketing strategies

132 citations0/0 files storedThe Journal of Peasant Studies

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Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling Nutrition, Health, and Society Studies

Abstract

In response to health concerns arising from the consumption of highly processed foods, the world's largest food and beverage manufacturing corporations (i.e. ‘Big Food’) have responded by modifying their existing products and introducing new products with ‘improved’ nutrient profiles. Three distinct strategies used by food corporations to nutritionally engineer and market their products will be identified: the reformulation of foods to reduce levels of harmful food components, the micronutrient fortification of products to address micronutrient deficiencies, and the functionalization of products that claim to provide optimal nutrition and health benefits. These nutritional strategies gain scientific legitimacy by drawing upon the dominant nutritional ideology of ‘nutritionism’, which is characterized by a reductive focus on nutrients as a way of understanding a food's effects on dietary health. Food and beverage corporations promote these nutritional strategies as an important part of their corporate social responsibility agendas, and as evidence that they are addressing the health issues associated with both over-nutrition and under-nutrition. However, these corporations are also using these nutritional strategies to legitimize and grow the markets for their products in the global North and South.

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References

2013Ultra‐processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system 2013Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries 2015Patchy progress on obesity prevention: emerging examples, entrenched barriers, and new thinking 2012Manufacturing Epidemics: The Role of Global Producers in Increased Consumption of Unhealthy Commodities Including Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Tobacco 2012Big Food, Food Systems, and Global Health 2013A food policy package for healthy diets and the prevention of obesity and diet‐related non‐communicable diseases: the NOURISHING framework 2015Strengthening of accountability systems to create healthy food environments and reduce global obesity 2012Policies to promote healthy eating in Europe: a structured review of policies and their effectiveness

Cited by

2025Policies to halt and reverse the rise in ultra-processed food production, marketing, and consumption 2022Global trends in added sugars and non-nutritive sweetener use in the packaged food supply: drivers and implications for public health 2025Towards unified global action on ultra-processed foods: understanding commercial determinants, countering corporate power, and mobilising a public health response 2021"Part of the Solution:" Food Corporation Strategies for Regulatory Capture and Legitimacy

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