Difference between revisions of "European Food Information Council"

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Revision as of 09:43, 7 January 2011

Foodspin badge.png This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.
EUFIC logo

The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) is a non-profit organisation which claims to provide science-based information on food safety & quality and health & nutrition to the media, health and nutrition professionals and educators, in a way that promotes consumer understanding. [1] The globalised system in which we now find ourselves makes it increasingly more important for the general public to have access to the right information. Taking food as an example, on one side there are nutritionists who claim that certain foods are non-nutritional and therefore should not be consumed whilst on the other side there are the profit making trans-national corporations who promote the consumption of non-nutritional foods such as fast food and convenience foods. This is making it increasingly difficult for consumers to know which choice is the right one; this is where a mediator is needed in order to provide the right information. EUFIC is one such organisation that aims to provide this service. However even within EUFIC which sets itself as an unbiased institution there are conflicts of interest both where its members and funders are concerned.

The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) claims to be a 'science based' information source on food, but actually functions as a food industry lobby group. It is co-funded by the European Commission and works with the Commission's EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity & Health.[2]

On its website the Council describes itself as:

a non-profit organisation which provides science-based information on food safety & quality and health & nutrition to the media, health and nutrition professionals, educators and opinion leaders, in a way that consumers can understand. In response to the public's increasing need for credible, science-based information on the nutritional quality and safety of foods, EUFIC's mission is to enhance the public's understanding of such issues and to raise consumers' awareness of the active role they play in safe food handling and choosing a well-balanced and healthy diet...."[3]

Location

The main offices for the European Food Information Council are located in Brussels, Belgium, but the organisation's network reaches across other European countries. The EUFIC is co-financed by the European Commission and the European food and drink industry. It is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected from member companies.

Funder controversies

Some of the companies that are listed as funders of EUFIC (see "Funding", below) have been involved in controversies which seemingly contradict EUFIC's aim (as expressed on one of its press releases) to enhance the public's understanding by providing "credible, science-based information on the nutritional quality and safety of foods".[4]

For example, according to the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, Nestlé Colombia labelled powdered milk with false dates of production:

In November 2002, police ordered Nestlé Colombia to decommission 200 tons of imported powdered milk. The milk had come from Uruguay under the brand name Conaprole, but the sacks had been repackaged with labels stating they had come from a local Nestlé factory, and stamped with false production dates of 20th September and 6th October 2002. The real production dates were between August 2001 and February 2002... Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo charged Nestlé with using sub-standard, contaminated milk, “a serious attack on the health of our people, especially the children”.[5]

Nestlé again came under scrutiny when, together with Coca-Cola, it produced and marketed a soft drink called Enviga which it claimed burned more calories than it provides and hence had the effect of "negative calories". Food Watchdog group CPSI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) said that "Enviga burns money, and over the long term is more likely to result in a negative bank balance than negative calories" and threatened to sue them if they continued to market the drink "with fraudulent calorie-burning and weight loss claims".[6]

Pfizer, too, has been accused of illegal marketing. In 2008 former Pfizer marketing vice president turned whistleblower Peter Rost MD launched a lawsuit against Pfizer accusing it of marketing the growth hormone Genotropin for unapproved purposes "such as combating aging in adults and treating short stature in children" in Indiana.[7] A federal judge in Boston denied Pfizer’s motion to dismiss and allowed Rost to proceed with his allegations of false claims for pediatric uses - but not aging in adults.[8] Although it is legal for doctors to prescribe drugs for off-label uses it is illegal for companies to market them for these purposes.

Pfizer is described by Corporate Watch as the "largest and richest pharmaceutical enterprise in the world".[9] According to the Financial Times, "Pfizer has powered its way up the global ranking list to its unassailable position thanks mainly to its marketing prowess."[10]

Scientific advisory board

According to EUFIC:

The primary role of the Scientific Advisory Board is to ensure that EUFIC's information and communication programmes are based on reviews of scientific evidence which have the support of the scientific community at large so that the information is representative, factually correct and truthful.[11]

Members of the scientific advisory board as of March 2009[12] are:

Scientific Advisory Board 2010

Eufic claims that the role of it's SAB is to ensure that EUFIC's information and communication programmes are based on reviews of scientific evidence which have the support of the scientific community at large so that the information is representative, factually correct and truthful. The members are -

Giorgio Poli, Chairman of the EUFIC Scientific Advisory Board, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,University of Milan, Italy.

Renate Frenz, Vice Chairman of the EUFIC Scientific Advisory Board, Past Honorary Chairman, European Federation of Association of Dieticians (EFAD), Germany.

France Bellisle, Researcher at the Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, University Paris 13,Bobigny, France.

Onno Korver, Former Chief Nutrition Scientist, Unilever, The Netherlands.

Milan Kovac, Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic.

Alan Reilly, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

Josef Schlatter, Head of the Nutritional and Toxicological Risks Section, Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Consumer Protection Directorate, Zurich, Switzerland.

Michael Sjöström, Head of Unit of Preventive Nutrition, Department of Biosciences/Medical Nutrition,Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. [13]

Controversies around EUFIC people

The people listed below occupied the posts mentioned as at March 2008, according to the EUFIC website.

John Lupien

John Lupien - chairman of the EUFIC Scientific Advisory Board and former Director of the Food and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is technical advisor to the International Association for the Development of Natural Gums, an association of cooperatives and producers in the 16 sub-Sahara African countries that produce acacia gum for use in the food industry in all countries.[14]

"The primary role of the Scientific Advisory Board is to ensure that EUFIC's information and communication programmes are based on reviews of scientific evidence which have the support of the scientific community at large so that the information is representative, factually correct and truthful"[15] However, the BBC news website reported on Friday, 8 October, 2004 that "A United Nations agency has launched an investigation into claims that a key consultation into how much sugar we should be eating was secretly funded by the sugar industry.... This funding deal was agreed with the FAO's then Director of Food and Nutrition, John Lupien." The report quotes Professor Jim Mann - Professor of Human Nutrition and Medicine, University of Otago in New Zealand - who states that "it would be impossible to produce an unbiased report when the source of funding came from groups with clearly vested interests."[16]

Ronald Walker

Ronald Walker - member of EUFIC's Scientific Advisory Board. Ronald Walker spent seven years as the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) as Chairman of their Scientific Committee on Toxicology/Food Safety in Europe. ILSI is funded by amongst others, Monsanto, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. He serves as a member of EUFIC's Scientific Advisory Committee.[17] He was formerly a "consultant for DSM Nutritional Products, a company that sold “Twinsweet” from Holland Sweetener Company which is a mixture of aspartame and acesulfame-k". Interestingly, Walker wrote a review claiming that the artificial sweetener aspartame was safe. Neither the fact that Walker received "funding from companies selling aspartame", nor that he held "official positions with associations who are supported by aspartame manufacturers and marketers", nor the fact that he had previously defended aspartame, were disclosed in this aspartame review[18]. This is somewhat controversial since it could be argued that reviews funded by manufacturers of a product under investigation could be considered biased and perhaps could misrepresent information. Aspartame has been linked in US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data with such side effects as: epileptic seizures, anxiety, blindness in one or both eyes, confusion, memory loss, and neurological symptoms.[19]

The EUFIC website, on the other hand, states in an article named "Much Ado About Nothing" that aspartame has been approved as safe for use by the general public and rubbishes claims that it could be linked to multiple sclerosis[20]. Aspartame is used in products from Coca-Cola (one of EUFIC's member companies) such as Diet Coke - "At Coca-Cola, we use aspartame and other low-calorie sweeteners in our low-sugar and diet soft drinks".[21]

Josephine Wills

Josephine Wills - director general of EUFIC. Wills is a vet who also worked for Masterfoods (a division of Mars which has been a member of EUFIC) for 18 years, where she was the EU lobbyist-in-chief for the company, and latterly as European Head of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for all product categories. [22]In April 2000, The Independent (London) reported that Mars was funding research in the US claiming to show that "the cocoa beans used to make chocolate contain naturally occurring polyphenols - plant compounds whose antioxidant properties can reduce the risk of heart disease." The article adds that Mars "is patenting a manufacturing process by which polyphenols can be retained in the chocolate".[23]

Dr Josephine Wills, "head of external science and health for Mars", is quoted as saying:

Polyphenols act as antioxidants - they can combat LDL oxidation which can lead to deposits in arteries, and reduce platelet activation. They are pretty powerful antioxidants.... What we've done is preserve as much of the natural level as possible.[24]

The article quotes Food Commission spokesman Ian Tokelove as saying that he is "highly sceptical" of any Mars bar health benefits:

"Okay, there's the cocoa beans, but what about the fat and the sugar? A Mars bar is high fat, high sugar - not what you would consider a healthy product, although the odd one is not going to hurt you."[25]

This is particularly worrying given that "EUFIC is an active participant of the European Platform for Action committed to helping fight one of the most serious health challenges facing the EU today: Obesity." [26] As a result of pressure to reduce child obesity, some of these member companies of EUFIC such as Pepsi-Co, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Mars have agreed to reduce the amount of advertising and marketing they put out aimed at children under 12. However there has been speculation that companies have taken these steps to "police themselves" in order to avoid regulations being imposed on them. Their actions have been describes as "half measures". [27]

Members and funding

According to EUFIC's website (March 2009):

EUFIC is co-financed by the European Commission and the European food and drink industry. It is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected from member companies. Current EUFIC members are: Barilla, Cargill, Cereal Partners, Coca-Cola HBC, Coca-Cola, DSM Nutritional Products Europe Ltd., Ferrero, Groupe Danone, Kraft Foods, McCormick Foods, Masterfoods, McDonald's, Nestlé, Novozymes, PepsiCo, Pfizer Animal Health, Procter & Gamble, Südzucker, Unilever, and Yakult.[28]

This list of EUFIC members listed on the Coolfood (a project of EUFIC) website as at February 2008[29] adds Mars to the above list.


People

Funding

Activities

Transparency

EUFIC has a Transparency statement, to which all members of the organisation are obliged to sign up. EUFIC is also a member of the Health On the Net organisation and have agreement over a code of conduct.[30]

Following is EUFIC’s own transparency statement:

  • - The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) has been established to provide science-based information and education material on foods and food related topics to health and nutrition professionals, educators, opinion leaders and the news media, in a form understandable to the general public.
  • - EUFIC's publications are based on peer reviewed science and will not promote views which cannot be endorsed by the scientific community at large. All publications must include references to scientific texts or experts.
  • - EUFIC will strive to publish in partnership with organisations or recognised experts, acknowledged for their credibility in their field of activity.
  • - EUFIC does not act as the spokesperson of industry and does not wish to be perceived as such.
  • - All activities must support EUFIC's mission as a credible and scientifically sound information source.
  • - EUFIC respects the specificity of each country and believes that most communication programmes can be established most effectively on a national level.
  • - EUFIC will be mindful of the need to address a balanced mix of subjects that enhance EUFIC's impact, credibility and effectiveness.
  • - EUFIC will not promote individual companies' views or brands nor any other information material, which is not based on peer reviewed science.
  • - EUFIC participates in an informal global network of Food Information Councils that share the common goal of communicating science-based information on healthy lifestyle, nutrition and food safety.[31]

Transparency: a definition and its use

The demands for transparency in corporations are largely on the rise, and one of the underlying reasons is globalisation. With more transnational affairs and the world moving from the local arena to the global by integrating people and culture, transparency is a way for people to have a bigger say. Used in the right way, transparency could have great benefits and could be seen as morally essential, if used for detecting and correcting errors. But as seen, many corporations and organisation have reason not to disclose their business. They often use the term, but not to its full potential, and is often applied for portraying the right public image. With transparency being voluntarily, the organisation itself has to provide the public with the wanted information.[32]

EUFIC and transparency

By using the term transparency, the consumer’s critical view becomes easier. But it is also crucial for the consumer that the information given is correct. EUFIC has shown lack of correct information in the past, regarding the controversies they have been involved in. With the aim of giving the consumer correct information on health and nutrition they have failed several times. With the moral dimension of transparency being that the information given; in this case to the consumer, is correct and does not have underlying interest that could affect the outcome, the consumer has a right to know why and where the information comes from. EUFIC’s actions shows how easy it is for organisation and corporations do supply information that gives the impression that it is correct. With the underlying conflict of interest between EUFIC, the food and drink industry and the consumer, it is crucial that the information given shows where this conflict lies. In EUFIC’s case they claim that by using a Scientific Advisory Board, SAB, to review if the information published, they can insure that it is correct and in line with the scientific community in large. But with members of the board involved in controversies involving food and nutrition, it does not seem like a procedure that works as it should.[33]


And even if EUFIC follows their own transparency statement to some extent, their information in some areas are still absent. Information on how much the different companies are funding EUFIC is nowhere to be seen on the webpage. Neither is any sort of disclosure on conflict of interest. In one of EUFIC’s newsletters, Food Today, from march 2006, they bring up the subject “Can I Trust the Web?”. In this letter they are giving the web user guidelines on how to be critical towards the information found online. One of the questions they say you should ask yourself is “What is their motivation?” and says that the information given could be bias. It is also mentioned that the information said to be transparent might not be so, it could instead be disguised publicity. The reader should “be alert to the so-called “advertorials” - articles with a scientific feel but a commercial intent”. A large number of the publications on EUFIC’s own webpage could be seen as not trustworthy by these criteria they present. In the letter, EUFIC points out that you should look for other signs of honesty, such as clear information on funding and endorsement, something themselves are rather vague about. [34]

Views on Food and Nutrition

Contact

Laura Smillie
European Food Information Council - EUFIC
Rue Guimard 19
1040 Brussels
Belgium
e-mail: laura.smillie@eufic.org

2010

EUFIC
Tassel House
Paul-Emile JANSON 6
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 506 89 89
www.eufic.com

Affiliations

Notes

  1. ↑ "EUFIC Website - Homepage", EUFIC Website, accessed 05 October 2010
  2. ↑ EUFIC, "EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity & Health", EUFIC website, accessed March 31 2009
  3. ↑ European Food Information Council Website About EUFIC Accessed 5/2/08
  4. ↑ [http://www.drf.nu/Eufic%20website%20pr%2028-06-2006%20.doc New website for the European Food Information Council, press release, EUFIC, 28 June 2006
  5. ↑ "Another Nestlé Scandal", Colombia Solidarity Campaign website, accessed March 31 2009
  6. ↑ "Calorie Burning Drink A Fraud", CSPI Newsroom, CSPI website, Accessed March 31 2009
  7. ↑ Ed Silverman, "Peter Rost Wins A Big Round Against Pfizer", Pharmalot website, accessed 31 March 2009
  8. ↑ Ed Silverman, "Peter Rost Wins A Big Round Against Pfizer", Pharmalot website, accessed 31 March 2009
  9. ↑ Corporate Watch Pfizer Overview Accessed 11.03.08
  10. ↑ Financial Times, 26 April 2001.
  11. ↑ Eufic's scientific advisory board, EUFIC website, accessed 31 March 2009
  12. ↑ Eufic's scientific advisory board, EUFIC website, accessed 31 March 2009
  13. ↑ "About EUFIC", accessed 2 November 2010
  14. ↑ "John R. Lupien",futureof science.org accessed 18 November 2010
  15. ↑ EUFIC website EUFIC's Scientific Advisory Board Accessed 21/02/08
  16. ↑ BBC News Website UN probes sugar industry claims Accessed 12/2/08
  17. ↑ "Aspartame and Manufacturer-Funded Scientific Reviews ", accessed 2 November 2010
  18. ↑ Aspartame and Manufacturer-Funded Scientific Reviews, Aspartame (NutraSweet) Toxicity Information Center website, accessed 31 March 2009
  19. ↑ "Aspartame Symptoms Submitted to the FDA", archived at sweetpoison.com website, accessed 31 March 2009
  20. ↑ EUFIC website Much Ado About Nothing - Aspartame? accessed 31 March 2009
  21. ↑ Coca-Cola website Aspartame Used in Low Calorie Soft Drinks Accessed 23/03/08
  22. ↑ "ResearchMedia Ltd Website",accessed 10 October 2010
  23. ↑ Jojo Moyes, "Can you swallow this Mars claim?", The Independent (London) 21 April 2000], accessed 31 March 2009
  24. ↑ Jojo Moyes, "Can you swallow this Mars claim?", The Independent (London) 21 April 2000], accessed 31 March 2009
  25. ↑ Jojo Moyes, "Can you swallow this Mars claim?", The Independent (London) 21 April 2000], accessed 31 March 2009
  26. ↑ EUFIC Website EUFIC and The EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health Accessed 04/03/08
  27. ↑ Ethical Corporation website Marketing to Children Accessed 04/03/08
  28. ↑ "About EUFIC", EUFIC website, accessed 31 March 2009
  29. ↑ Cool Food Planet website Who is EUFIC? Accessed 19/2/08
  30. ↑ HONcode (2010) Certificate of compliance accessed 12 November 2010
  31. ↑ EUFIC (undated) EUFIC Transparency statement accessed 12 November 2010
  32. ↑ Florini, A, M., (1999), 'Does the Invisible Hand Need a Transparent Glove? The Politics of Transparency', Paper prepared for the the Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, Washington, D.C., April 28-30, 1999
  33. ↑ EUFIC (undated), "EUFIC’s Scientific Advisory Board" (accessed 12 november 2010)
  34. ↑ EUFIC – Food Today (2006) Can I trust the Web ? accessed on 12 november 2010
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