ATNI urges manufacturers to commit to ‘consistent disclosure’

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 recognized 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 harmonization 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 organizations (NGOs) and others.