The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
More than half the experts on the UK government’s nutrition advisory panel have links to the food industry, research has revealed.
At least 11 of the 17 members of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) have ties to companies including Nestle and the world’s largest ice cream producer, Unilever.
The conflict of interests has led to questions over their impartiality, with concerns it is contributing to an ‘explosion of suffering and death from diet-related disease in the UK’.
SACN is a powerful group of people appointed as independent experts to advise the government, which in turn influences policy.
‘Healthy eating’ advisors to the Government have worked with companies that sell junk food, like Nestle, a study has found
Since being set up in 2000 it has produced high profile guidelines on daily salt and sugar intake, vitamin D supplements and feeding babies.
But with spiralling levels of obesity and related ill-health, there has been criticism both SACN and officials reviewing its recommendations have not done enough to curb this.
BMJ researchers looked at the interests declared by SACN members in publicly available documents published on the government website, within the past three years.
They found David Mela, a retired senior scientist from Unilever, has done consultancy work for Unilever, Tate and Lyle, Coca Cola’s Israel franchise CBC Israel, and Cargill, which produces cocoa and chocolate products among other things.
Another member, Julie Lovegrove, is chair of an expert group at the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe, whose member companies include Pepsico, Cadbury’s US owner Mondelez, and General Mills, the American firm behind Cheerios and Haagen Dazs.
At least six out of the 11 members of SACN’s subgroup on maternal and child nutrition have ties to food firms, including baby food manufacturers and formula milk brands.
These include Ann Prentice, a council member of the Nestle Foundation, and Marion Hetherington who has undertaken work for Danone and baby food brand Ella’s Kitchen, the latter on an unpaid basis.
Nutritionist Ann Prentice is a council member of the Nestle Foundation, the BMJ investigation reported
The group’s chair, Ken Ong, has also received research funding from Mead Johnston Nutrition, which makes formula milk, according to the investigation.
Last night, experts criticised the associations, with suggestions they may have unconsciously hindered progress in improving the nation’s diet.
Chris van Tulleken, associate professor at University College London and author of a best-selling book on ultra-processed food, said: ‘Even small financial conflicts affect behaviour and beliefs in subtle or unconscious ways.
‘Despite two decades of work from a conflicted SACN there has been an explosion of suffering and death from diet-related disease in the UK so I don’t think it’s credible to claim that the committee has been very effective.’
He added: ‘There are some excellent independent experts but they are a minority and in my view their work has been hampered by conflicts of interest with the industry that has created this health crisis. SACN must become independent of the food industry.’
David Mela, a retired senior scientist from Unilever, has done consultancy work for Unilever, Tate and Lyle and chocolate makers Cargill
Rob Percival, head of policy at the Soil Association, said: ‘We’re concerned that the committee and its integrity might be undermined by those ties to the food industry.’
However, others defended the links, saying are partly a result of the lack of money in relevant research.
Alison Tedstone, former chief nutritionist for Public Health England, also suggests that refusing to allow experts with industry ties on SACN would ‘diminish’ its expertise and could delay future legislation.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) responded on behalf of SACN and all members named in this article, saying its members are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest.
A spokesman said these are recorded in minutes of committee meetings which and are also published on the SACN website.
He said: ‘No members of the committee are directly employed by the food and drink industry, and all have a duty to act in the public interest and to be independent and impartial.’
