OBJECTIVE To propose a policy framework for the regulation of functional foods and health claims within a public health context. DESIGN This article reviews the empirical evidence and public health principles associated with functional foods and health claims to analyse the issues, challenge the assumptions that have emerged and explore options for moving forward. SETTING Functional foods a...

Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) has an evolving nature and during the last decades its theoretical, conceptual, structural, practical and programmatic notions evolved significantly and approaches toward food and nutrition have changed drastically. Now, more than ever before, the issue is considered as a fundamental component of sustainable development globally. For a better grasp of the compl...

In the case discussion, 'Equity in Public Health Ethics: The Case of Menu Labelling Policy at the Local Level' (2014), Mah and Timming state that menu labelling would 'place requirements for information disclosure on private sector food businesses, which, as a policy instrument, is arguably less intrusive than related activities such as requiring changes to the food content'. In this commentary...

Global interest in food policy is emerging in parallel with mounting challenges to the food supply and the rising prevalence of diet-related chronic health conditions. Some of the foundational elements of food policies are agricultural practices, finite resources, as well as economic burdens associated with a growing and ageing population. At the intersection of these interests is the need for ...

I n 2009, 14.7% of households were food insecure at some time during the year. In other words, members of those households did not have access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. This is arguably the most serious nutrition-related public health problem facing the U.S. today. The serious developmental consequences of food insecurity include compromised mental and physical he...

Policy is in charge of consumers’ interests, especially concerning food safety. The implementation of policy regulations is a common tool to exert influence on the food safety status in society. However, the food control is in the hands of enterprises. To increase the effectiveness of policy making it is essential to understand enterprise compliance behaviour. This paper presents an expert syst...

in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, food taxes have been introduced in several european countries, the so-called ‘obesitax’. as yet little evidence is at hand, policy measures are being taken to counterweight the consumption of unhealthy food or the increasing diet-related diseases. several questions need to be discussed, starting from a general perspective:...

BACKGROUND The 2012 visit to Canada of Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, led to a public rebuff by Canadian governmental officials. This paper adapts the frame-critical policy analysis of Schön and Rein (1994), to explore the rhetorical basis for this conflict. This examination is offered as an illustrative example of how food insecurity is framed ...

In less than a decade, European food institutions have gone through a period of important reform. This reform was intended to address new challenges posed by a succession of food safety crises, the entry into the world markets of novel foods, and general public distrust of the actions of the European Commission. This paper sketches the most salient institutional changes that have occurred in th...

The environmental sustainability (ES) of food systems is a critical challenge for policy makers. This is a highly contested policy area with differing views among stakeholders. The aim of the study was to develop a better understanding of how ES considerations are addressed in Australian food and nutrition policies and the way that consultation processes affect final policy outcomes. A mixed-me...