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Reductions in sugar intake are at the center of policy discussions to improve health. In this article, we use barcode‐level nutrition and sales data on the near‐universe of all packaged food products in the United States over 2007–2015 to investigate whether food manufacturers have reduced added sugar in their product offerings and whether these reformulations have played a role on consumers' sugar intake. We find that reformulation efforts would have reduced sugar intake by 52.8% between 2007 and 2015 had households' shopping baskets in 2015 remained the same as in 2007. However, consumers' purchases have gravitated toward more sugary products over time, thereby negating more than twothirds of the reduction in sugar intake that reformulation could have brought about. As a result, sugar intake has only decreased by 15.6%. Evidence shows that the largest reformulation effects come from product groups that have received the greatest scrutiny. Sweetened beverages, desserts, and sweets together represent 89% of pure reformulation, where sweetened beverages alone represent 43%. We also analyze the change in added sugar intake across income and find larger reductions in higher‐income households; this finding suggests that existing disparities in diet quality have become more pronounced over time [EconLit Citations: D22, I12, I18, L66]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, foodborne illness is a significant public health challenge. Food safety inspection plays a crucial role in the regulation of food businesses to prevent foodborne illnesses. To be an effective health protection measure, however, food safety inspections must facilitate the thorough evaluation of food safety risks. Our research examined how food safety inspectors from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. assessed food contamination control during food premise inspections. Data were collected via an online survey of environmental health practitioners who routinely conduct food safety inspections. The findings indicated that inspectors are generally aware of food safety hazards that can be present at food businesses and have deployed a variety of relevant data-gathering methods to inform their examination of the extent of contamination control. The findings also indicated a prevailing methodological incongruence stemming from the absence of a robust inspection methodology. We propose that these shortcomings be addressed by solutions that are formulated based on established hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles and qualitative field research. The development of a clear and appropriate methodology will support food safety inspections to provide a robust and reliable means for evaluating food safety risk and ultimately reduce the incidence and burden of foodborne illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the systemic inequities in the U.S. highlighted by the infant formula shortage. It shows the impact of infant formula shortage on families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and stresses the need for WIC optimization and modernization. It suggests pediatric providers to advocate for paid family leave, lactation accommodations in the workplace and public spaces, and health-care based lactation support.

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) and ergonomic risk factors are very common in bakery workers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to (1) assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among bakers because they use automated machines or traditional baking, and (2) to determine the strategies to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in bakers. METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted from the beginning to February 4, 2022, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Mesh keywords and phrases were used to execute the search strategy. Information on MSDs and ergonomic risk factors in bakery workers was collected. Two reviewers worked independently on study selection, data extraction, and paper quality ranking. RESULTS: This study identified 14 papers from seven countries. Although the prevalence of MSDs in bakery workers has been studied, only a handful of them have been studied ergonomic risk factors, and the findings have been very limited. The association between different risk factors and MSDs seemed significant compared to many other occupational diseases. The traditional bread-baking system and lack of mechanization may increase the risk of MSDs in bakery workers. CONCLUSION: WRMSDs for bakery workers have been less studied than other occupational diseases. Our systematic review found several significant relations between the factors influencing the prevalence of MSDs. This study also showed the comparison of traditional and modern cooking systems with diseases of the upper limbs, shoulders, and back pain as possible fields for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: US tobacco companies owned leading US food companies from 1980 to 2001. We measured whether hyper‐palatable foods (HPF) were disproportionately developed in tobacco‐owned food companies, resulting in substantial tobacco‐related influence on the US food system. Design: The study involved a review of primary industry documents to identify food brands that were tobacco company‐owned. Data sets from the US Department of Agriculture were integrated to facilitate longitudinal analyses estimating the degree to which foods were formulated to be hyper‐palatable, based on tobacco ownership. Setting and cases: United States Department of Agriculture data sets were used to identify HPF foods that were (n = 105) and were not (n = 587) owned by US tobacco companies from 1988 to 2001. Measurements: A standardized definition from Fazzino et al. (2019) was used to identify HPF. HPF items were identified overall and by HPF group: fat and sodium HPF, fat and sugar HPF and carbohydrates and sodium HPF. Findings Tobacco‐owned foods were 29% more likely to be classified as fat and sodium HPF and 80% more likely to be classified as carbohydrate and sodium HPF than foods that were not tobacco‐owned between 1988 and 2001 (P‐values = 0.005–0.009). The availability of fat and sodium HPF (> 57%) and carbohydrate and sodium HPF (> 17%) was high in 2018 regardless of prior tobacco‐ownership status, suggesting widespread saturation into the food system. Conclusions: Tobacco companies appear to have selectively disseminated hyper‐palatable foods into the US food system between 1988 and 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic compromised access to essential meals for many children. In response, a public/private partnership known as the Emergency Meals-to-You program was established to deliver meals in affected rural areas of the United States. This study builds on this using a scorecard approach adapted from the United Nations Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient to identify and prioritize actions for strengthening food system resilience. A pilot food system resilience scorecard facilitated data collection from five workshops with professionals familiar with the program, emergency management, public health, or food systems. Data analysis and interpretation identified nine priority actions. These included integrating the food sector and schools within emergency management, mapping local food sector capacities, working with schools to receive de-identified data about nutritional, allergy and other health needs, developing disaster plans for sustaining food access at the school district level, and protecting ecosystem services and agricultural areas. There is an urgent need to embed the food sector and schools within emergency management. These systems are local, designed to coordinate complicated tasks in crises, multidisciplinary, and are used in many countries. Providing a ready-made framework for locally driven initiatives to strengthen food systems now and into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different seafood supply chain pathways contribute to or conversely detract from the resilience and adaptive capacity of the fishing sector. Direct seafood marketing strategies shorten the link between seafood harvesters and consumers. These strategies appear to be relatively resistant to systemic food system disruptions, making them a potentially important segment of a resilient food system providing benefits to consumers and harvesters. However, little is known about the scale and diversity of the direct seafood marketing sector in the United States. This paper outlines the advantages of collecting data on direct seafood marketing in the US. Additionally, we describe our methodology for creating a sampling frame of direct seafood marketers. We provide initial results from the first national assessment of direct seafood marketing practices, including results from a questionnaire distributed to 39,511 commercial seafood harvesters engaging in wild capture fisheries. Direct seafood marketing was a common strategy among respondents, and the most popular strategy involved selling to a source-identified distributor, i.e. intermediaries who identify the harvester at the point of sale. When combined with data on direct seafood marketing permits, it is estimated that 12% of US seafood harvesters engage in direct seafood sales. These findings suggest that direct marketing is a ubiquitous practice in the commercial fishing sector in the US. Understanding scale and diversity of direct seafood marketing in the US can provide information needed for targeted investments in policies, funding, and technical assistance programs that build diverse, resilient seafood supply chains, and benefit the fishing sector and food security of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on an article by T. L. Fazzino and colleagues which combined previously secret tobacco industry documents and U.S. Department of Agriculture data sets capturing the food supply to estimate the likelihood that some consumer food brands have reformulated to be hyperpalatable. Topics include finding of a 2019 randomized clinical trial on people on ultraprocessed food diets and a growing need and interest in understanding a commercial determinants of health (CDoH) framework.

Policy Points Our research reveals the similarities and differences among the lobbying activities of tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and ultraprocessed food industries, which are often a barrier to the implementation of public health policies. Over 23 years, we found that just six organizations dominated lobbying expenses in the tobacco and alcohol sectors, whereas the gambling sector outsourced most of their lobbying to professional firms. Databases like OpenSecrets are a useful resource to monitor the commercial determinants of health., Context: Commercial lobbying is often a barrier to the development and implementation of public health policies. Yet, little is known about the similarities and differences in the lobbying practices of different industry sectors or types of commercial actors. This study compares the lobbying practices of four industry sectors that have been the focus of much public health research and advocacy: tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and ultraprocessed foods., Methods: Data on lobbying expenditures and lobbyist backgrounds were sourced from the OpenSecrets database, which monitors lobbying in the United States. Lobbying expenditure data were analyzed for the 1998-2020 period. We classified commercial actors as companies or trade associations. We used Power BI software to link, analyze, and visualize data sets., Findings: We found that the ultraprocessed food industry spent the most on lobbying ($1.15 billion), followed by gambling ($817 million), tobacco ($755 million), and alcohol ($541 million). Overall, companies were more active than trade associations, with associations being least active in the tobacco industry. Spending was often highly concentrated, with two organizations accounting for almost 60% of tobacco spending and four organizations accounting for more than half of alcohol spending. Lobbyists that had formerly worked in government were mainly employed by third-party lobby firms., Conclusions: Our study shows how comparing the lobbying practices of different industry sectors offers a deeper appreciation of the diversity and similarities of commercial actors. Understanding these patterns can help public health actors to develop effective counterstrategies., (© 2024 The Authors. The Milbank Quarterly published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Milbank Memorial Fund.)