Two-thirds of the products sold by the 30 biggest food companies in the world are unhealthy, according to a report published by the Access to Nutrition Foundation (ATNi) on Thursday.

“If you go to your supermarket, on average, nearly 70 percent of products you’ll be looking at will be unhealthy, no matter what the labelling says, no matter what the advertising says,” Philip Eisenhart, ATNi media lead, told Newsweek.

Greg Garrett, ATNi executive director, told Newsweek that there had been marginal improvements—with 34 percent of sales coming from healthy foods this year, rather than 27 percent, as was the case in 2021.

“But that’s nowhere near even half,” he said. “If we’re going to get to 50 percent by 2030, things have to move much faster.”

“It’s still a bleak picture,” said Eisenhart. “And on top of that, not one of these companies is willing to stop marketing those unhealthy products to children.”

Garrett said ATNi looked at the largest 30 food and beverage companies as “a good indicator of what’s happening with the rest of the market.” These companies represent nearly a quarter of all food and drinks sold globally, and nine of them are based in the U.S.

“We analyzed, using evidence-based nutrient profile models, how healthy or unhealthy the products are,” the group’s chief said, explaining that ATNi and a team of experts looked at approximately 400 ways to measure food healthiness, and narrowed it down to three: Australian, U.K. and European national nutrition models.

These calculate overall healthiness by measuring macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates and protein), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), salt and sugar.

Eisenhart said that disagreements over how to categorize healthiness was “one of the things that’s hindered so much progress in public health.”

“There just needs to be some conformity on that so you can have a proper debate,” he said. “That allows us to steer industry and policies and investor activity towards a common goal.”

According to that metric, only nine of the 30 companies achieved 50 percent of their sales from “healthier” products, ATNi’s analyses found.

“If you’re a mixed-food company and you’re claiming to produce foods for everyday consumption, you have an obligation to make sure that at least half of your offerings is healthy,” said Garrett. “If you’re a confectionary company…the caveat is, you don’t market those foods to children. You label them appropriately.”

ATNi’s report found that none of the top 30 food companies were following the World Health Organization’s recommendations for responsible marketing.

“We really believe that it is unfair to expect consumers to make informed decisions when they don’t get balanced information,” said Eisenhart. “That goes back to the food environment.”

He explained that the report was calling on companies to “treat children fairly” with their marketing, so they didn’t get “horribly influenced from a young age” and fall victim to lifestyle diseases—such as obesity or type 2 diabetes—linked to poor diets.

But there was a power in knowing how healthy, or unhealthy, your food was, he added.

“An informed consumer is probably the person with the most power,” said Eisenhart. “They can change company behavior by their spend.”

Food Companies Respond

Newsweek reached out via email to the companies involved in the report—all except two, who did not have publicly available email addresses—and received six responses.

A spokesperson from Nestlé told Newsweek: “We are disappointed that ATNi has not recognized the considerable progress that Nestlé has made.”

They said Nestlé shared the “common goal of supporting healthy and balanced diets” but that ATNi’s Global Index methodology “disadvantages companies with more diverse offerings,” and therefore, “ATNi’s assessment does not do our portfolio justice.”

A spokesperson from Flora Food Group told Newsweek: “Flora Food Group is committed to continuous improvement through our comprehensive Nutrition Benchmarking Programme, which goes beyond standard nutrition profiling models to ensure our products deliver essential nutrients as part of a balanced diet, including omega-3 and -6 and fortified vitamins A and D.”

They said Flora Food Group maintained “strict responsible marketing policies” and that ATNi’s methodology underrepresented the nutritional benefits of products like spreads, which are consumed in small portions.

A spokesperson from FrieslandCampina told Newsweek that they were “proud” of the company’s improvement as they were among the firms to have achieved at least half their sales from healthier products.

“This achievement reflects our deep commitment to health and nutrition,” the spokesperson said, adding that FrieslandCampina followed a “comprehensive” marketing framework and had recently raised the age threshold for marketing to children from 12 to 16 years.

A spokesperson from Arla told Newsweek: “Arla is committed to creating the future of dairy, bringing health and inspiration to the world naturally.”

They said that 58 percent of Arla’s products achieved a “healthier” rating in 2024, compared to 56 percent in 2021, which they said reflected Arla’s “steady progress.”

A spokesperson from Barilla told Newsweek: “At Barilla, we source high-quality, safe and nutritious ingredients, from responsible supply chains, that meet strict criteria to ensure our products are not only tasty and wholesome, but also safe and contribute to a balanced diet.”

They added that Barilla was committed to improving the nutritional profile of its portfolio and that their communication efforts aimed to prioritize transparency.

A spokesperson from Danone told Newsweek: “We are proud to have been awarded the top position in the 2024 Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi) Global Index.

“This recognition reflects our strategy and commitment to bringing health through food to as many people as possible.

“Food businesses have an important role to play in addressing global health challenges by making nutrition accessible and tailored to the needs of people worldwide, at every stage of life.”

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