An accountability framework to promote healthy food environments

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Policy
• Food Systems

Background:

• Voluntary partnerships between government and the food industry are increasingly common in high-income countries.
• These partnerships aim to address rising rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.
• Existing accountability frameworks often lack mechanisms for effective enforcement and stakeholder accountability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing accountability frameworks relevant to government and food industry partnerships.
• To construct a novel accountability framework to promote healthy food environments.
• To guide government and food industry engagement in addressing public health challenges.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive desk review of ten databases was conducted between November 2012 and May 2013.
• Twenty-six eligible resources were analyzed, focusing on principles, theories, and limitations of existing frameworks.
• Guiding principles from fifteen interdisciplinary frameworks were synthesized to construct a new model.

Main Results:

• Key strengths of existing frameworks include trust, inclusivity, transparency, verification, government leadership, public deliberation, and independent performance recognition.
• A significant limitation identified was the absence of an empowered authority to enforce accountability among all stakeholders.
• The review highlighted the need for robust mechanisms to manage conflicts of interest and dispute resolution.

Conclusions:

• A proposed four-step accountability framework is presented to guide government and food industry collaboration.
• This framework emphasizes an independent body responsible for setting objectives, governance, and performance standards.
• The empowered body facilitates assessment, communication, enforcement, and improvement of accountability for healthier food environments.