Food Industry's Front of Package Labeling: Cautionary Tales from Tobacco Control

Introduction. In the 1950s and 1960s, the tobacco industry successfully delayed and weakened public health packaging regulation, in part by adopting a series of self-regulatory initiatives. Since YEAR, the food and beverage industry appears to be following a similar pattern regarding front-of-package [FOP] labeling. The American Beverage Association's and Grocery Manufacturer Association's 2011 FOP proposals appear calculated to undercut effective, consumer-friendly labeling requirements proposed by the Institute of Medicine and the Food and Drug Administration.

Methods. To compare tobacco and food industry responses to labeling regulation, we analyzed (1) legislative hearings, (2) litigation transcripts, (3) industry documents, and (4) news coverage pertaining to each event. We analyzed the private and publicly stated positions of key actors –industry, government, and public health advocates–around these important labeling policy events.

Results. The tobacco industry fought a lengthy battle to prevent regulation, including issuing the “Frank Statement” in 1954, and adopting 2 separate voluntary advertising codes before lobbying Congress to weaken the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. Our ongoing analysis of the FOP event indicates that the content and timing of the industries' initiatives may be intended to have the same chilling effect on regulation.

Discussion. We provide evidence that the food and beverage industry is following strategies from the tobacco industry's “playbook.” Food and nutrition advocates and researchers must be aware of the food and beverage industry's activities if successful labeling policies are to be enacted in spite of industry opposition.