A comparison of front-of-pack food labelling policy development processes in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) of food products has increasingly been used as a way to convey simplified nutrition information to consumers. However, the introduction of FoPL has highlighted deep divisions between stakeholder groups regarding preferred FoPL designs and regulatory models to guide implementation. In several countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, public sector officials have brought together public and private actors to determine an approach that balances competing interests as well as the priorities of state officials. The collaborative development processes in these three case studies appear similar on the surface, but the design of each process and the context in which each unfolded was unique, and this in turn led to different outcomes of each process. This research undertakes a comparative analysis of the FoPL policy development processes in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in order to explore the universal and context-specific underlying drivers shaping each FoPL policy development process. This research aims to understand what lessons could be taken away from a comparison of these policy development processes that could help the actors engaged with these processes better understand the nature of these processes and how their actions can influence the direction of these processes. In order to explore these policy development processes, the critical realist philosophy shaped the research framework and design, which utilised key stakeholder interviews, a Q methodology study and a document analysis to gain insight into each process. Data were analysed using an analytical framework combining insights from the Advocacy Coalition and multi-level governance frameworks. This research highlighted different factors that largely influenced each policy process. At the same time, this research identified a range of common drivers, including those relating to the institutional fit of a collaboration, design of a collaboration, roles of state actors and engagement strategies of stakeholders that shaped all processes. This research concludes with a list of lessons that could be drawn on by stakeholders engaged in these or similar policy development processes in attempt to shape these processes.