enhancing food security and physical activity for maori, pacific and ...

Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income Peoples4.2 The potential role of the food industryDelvina Gorton, Sharron Bowers, Louise Signal and Cliona NiMhurchuSummaryThere are multiple levels in the food supply chain which offer potential for intervention todecrease the cost of healthy food compared to less healthy food, or to encourage choiceof healthier options. At the upstream or primary production level, this includes ensuringfood-related research considers health as well as economic outcomes. At the midstreamlevel of food processing, manufacture, and distribution, promising initiatives includeproduct reformulation and proportional package size pricing. At the downstream level,retailing and food services offer many options for intervention, such as increasedpromotion of healthier foods, strategic location of supermarkets, expansion of privatelabel product ranges, visible positioning of healthier products in food outlets, decreasingthe relative cost of healthier fast food options, development of industry nutrition policy,and monitoring of cost and availability of healthier foods throughout New Zealand. Acomprehensive review of the food supply chain to determine where cumulative foodcosts are incurred would provide a sound baseline from which to move forward. The roleof the food industry is crucial to improving access to and cost of healthy food, andconsideration should be given to whether interventions such as those proposed are bestachieved on a voluntary, collaborative, or regulatory basis.Specific recommendations for areas where action can be taken have been identified inthe literature and from key informants and these include the following:Overarching• Consider whether the best way forward for improving the affordability of healthyfood is through industry leadership, developing collaborations between the foodindustry and public health and creating a shared agenda, or governmentregulation.• Undertake a comprehensive review of the food supply chain looking at upstream,midstream and downstream factors in order to identify how cumulative food costsare incurred and areas where costs or profitability could be manipulated to favourhealthy over less healthy foods.• Ensure initiatives related to the development or availability of healthy foods arenot just focused on premium products and consideration is given to providingaffordable healthier products.Upstream• Invest in research across the entire food chain in order to ensure an integratedfocus on health and economic outcomes for the New Zealand market.Midstream• Support continued product reformulation to make staple foods eaten by all socioeconomicgroups healthier, reflecting dietary guidelines.103