NDLI: Corporate political activity of the baby food industry: the example of Nestlé in the United States of America

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Tanrikulu, Hacer Neri, Daniela Robertson, Aileen Mialon, Melissa
Abstract	Background The marketing practices of the breastmilk substitutes industry have been known for decades, but little is known about the influence of the baby food industry, more generally, on public health policy, research and practice, also known as ‘corporate political activity’ (CPA). In this study, the baby food industry refers to for-profit companies that manufacture, market or distribute breastmilk substitutes and food products for infants and young children under two years. In addition, trade associations, public relations firms, marketing agencies and individuals or groups affiliated with the baby food industry are also considered to be part of the baby food industry. The aim of the current study was to systematically identify and monitor the CPA of the baby food industry in the USA, shown by the activities of Nestlé, the largest industry actor in this sector in the country. Methods The case study consisted of an analysis of publicly available information for data published between January and November 2018. We included documents from the industry, the government and other sources, including professional organisations, charities and consumer associations. We analysed data using an existing framework to classify the CPA of the food industry. Results During the period of data collection, Nestlé employed a list of action-based ‘instrumental strategies’. The most prominent strategy was ‘information strategy’, used to fund, produce and disseminate industry-preferred information. Nestlé was further found to ‘establish relationships with key opinion leaders and health organisations, and the media’, ‘seek involvement in community’ and directly influence policies and programs through indirect access and the placement of actors in government policy settings. The company also used argument-based ‘discursive strategies’ to frame the debate on diet- and public health-related issues. Conclusion This study showed that Nestlé used various CPA strategies which may have influenced public health policy, research and practice in ways favourable to the baby food industry. These results could be used to further recognise and pre-empt the influence of corporations on health, in order to ensure that commercial interests do not prevail over public health goals.
Related Links	https://internationalbreastfeedingjournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13006-020-00268-x.pdf
Ending Page	12
Page Count	12
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	17464358
DOI	10.1186/s13006-020-00268-x
Journal	International Breastfeeding Journal
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	15
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2020-04-08
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Maternal and Child Health Commercial determinants of health Food industry Corporate political activity Infants and young children feeding
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Obstetrics and Gynecology Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Journal Impact Factor	2.9/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.6/2023

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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