The food environment is an important influence on individual food habits and the food industry has a powerful role to play in what we eat. Many national governments and international bodies such as WHO, advocate working collaboratively with the food industry, yet there remains much opposition to this from some public health groups.
This presentation will give a personal reflection on the experience as Chair of the Responsibility Deal Food Network in England, a form of partnership working between government, industry and public health groups. It will review the achievements and challenges in areas such as nutritional labeling, reformulation, portion control and the promotion of foods, to consider the extent to which working with the food industry can change the food environment and improve the nations health.