A review of front-of-pack nutrition labelling in Southeast Asia: Industry interference, lessons learned, and future directions

Front-of-pack nutrition labelling is an evidence-based nutrition intervention that is recommended by the World Health Organization and other health agencies as an effective non-communicable disease prevention strategy. To date, the types of front-of-pack labels that have been identified as being most effective have yet to be implemented in Southeast Asia. This has been partly attributed to extensive industry interference in nutrition policy development and implementation. This paper outlines the current state of food labelling policy in the region, describes observed industry interference tactics, and provides recommendations for how governments in Southeast Asia can address this interference to deliver best-practice nutrition labelling to improve diets at the population level. The experiences of four focal countries – Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam – are highlighted to provide insights into the range of industry tactics that are serving to prevent optimal food labelling policies from being developed and implemented. FUNDING: This research was supported by the United Kingdom Global Better Health Programme, which is managed by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Southeast Asia.