A series of emails obtained under a state freedom of information law suggests major food companies have a “roadmap for dealing with scientific challenges,” says the leader of the nonprofit group U.S. Right to Know in a Bloomberg story. The emails by current and former Coca-Cola executives suggest actions such as enlisting outside organizations to question dietary advice that was contrary to their business interests.
One former executive at the soft drink company also suggested using membership in scientific societies to steer public activities — “encourage them to address public health matters and ‘suggest’ appropriate topics,” said Bloomberg. Nutrition professor Marion Nestle said the emails “reveal deliberate use of [the tobacco industry’s] ‘playbook’ tactics: cast doubt on the science, influence reporters, use front groups … to undermine concerns about the harmful effects of sugary drinks and head off dietary guidelines raising such concerns, and regulation.”
Gary Ruskin, co-director of U.S. Right to Know, wrote a report, published in the journal Critical Public Health, on the significance of the emails, which were written after the release of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines. They recommended, for the first time, that Americans limit added sugars to no more than 10 percent of daily calories.