title: Systematic examination of publicly-available information reveals the diverse and extensive corporate political activity of the food industry in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The political influence of the food industry, referred to as corporate political activity (CPA), represents a potential barrier to the development and implementation of effective public health policies for non-communicable diseases prevention. This paper reports on the feasibility and limitations of using publicly-available information to identify and monitor the CPA of the food industry in Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search was conducted for information from food industry, government and other publicly-available data sources in Australia. Data was collected in relation to five key food industry actors: the Australian Food and Grocery Council; Coca Cola; McDonald's; Nestle; and Woolworths, for the period January 2012 to February 2015. Data analysis was guided by an existing framework for classifying CPA strategies of the food industry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The selected food industry actors used multiple CPA strategies, with 'information and messaging' and 'constituency building' strategies most prominent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The systematic analysis of publicly-available information over a limited period was able to identify diverse and extensive CPA strategies of the food industry in Australia. This approach can contribute to accountability mechanisms for NCD prevention.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia. mmialon@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mialon
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.|School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Boyd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Swinburn
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allender
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sacks
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D019649:Food Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011057:Politics
keywords: Corporate political activity; Food industry; Non-communicable diseases