The chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo has admitted that food and drink companies have played an unwitting part in creating the obesity crisis.

Indra Nooyi told more than 400 manufacturers and retailers gathered at the Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit in Barcelona last week that they had to accept collective ­responsibility for high levels of obesity in the West and do something about it.

“Each and every one of us has unknowingly played a part in the obesity problem,” she said, calling on governments to develop new incentives to reward companies for investing in healthier products.

“If governments engaged us in regular dialogue, there is so much we might achieve together,” she said.

Last week, PepsiCo also announced a partnership with chef Ferran Adria, whose El Bulli restaurant, which closes this year, has been named best in the world five times by Restaurant magazine. Adria will work with the company to develop new products that contain less fat and oil.

During the summit, the forum’s board, which is made up of representatives from a host of multinationals including PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and Coca-Cola, passed a series of resolutions calling on suppliers and retailers to ramp up their investment in healthier products.

Business leaders also discussed ways to reduce the impact of the industry on the ­environment.

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