Leading food and drink manufacturers are being called on to commit to “full and consistent disclosure” of the healthiness of their product portfolios.
Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), which aims to “transform markets so that at least half of companies’ food & beverage sales are derived from healthy products by 2030”, has recommended that manufacturers should benchmark their product portfolios against at least one of three “appropriate” NPMs to “level the playing field” with rivals.
The recommendation comes from ATNI’s latest report, which identifies that “more than 100 internationally recognised NPMs” are currently being used by the industry with “no single agreed-upon way to define and measure the healthiness of food portfolios”.
“The discrepancies among models creates confusion for regulators, manufacturers, investors, and consumers, and defeats the purpose of these models, which is to facilitate healthier food choices,” said ATNI.
As such, ATNI launched a research series in 2023 with the hope of bringing “increased understanding and harmonisation to the sector”. Eighty-six individuals from 14 countries participated, including representatives from Arla Foods, Asda, Co-op, Danone, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, Mars, Mondelez International, Morrisons, Nestlé, Nomad Foods, PepsiCo, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Unilever. They were joined by investors, academic experts, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others.
Participants evaluated the transparency and governance, underlying principles, nutrition information, and the peer review process of various NPMs.
A comparative analysis was then performed to evaluate and compare the performance of the selected NPMs across 17 different product categories and four types of company portfolios underlying principles, nutrition information, and the peer review process of a range of NPMs.
The research found that three NPMs – Health Star Rating, Nutri-Score and UK Nutrient Profile Model – were “appropriate” methods of reporting the healthiness of food and drink products.
As a result of the findings, ATNI and its investor partners are now calling on manufacturers to voluntarily benchmark their product portfolio against at least one of these three NPMs.
Reporting using the selected NPMs and standardised guidelines would “allow investors to better interpret, understand, and compare the healthiness of companies’ product portfolios”, said ATNI.
This was “an important first step towards healthier food environments and improved access to healthier foods for all,” said ATNI executive director Greg Garrett.
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