Global Food Research Program at UNC-Chapel Hill

New(ish) year, new taxes! We’ve updated our global sweetened beverage and food tax maps with 7 newly implemented or planned taxes in Slovakia, Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Mongolia, Barbados, and Santa Cruz, CA. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e7jDyMtg #SSBtaxes #HFSStaxes #fiscalPolicy #nutritionPolicy

Congrats to our colleagues in Mexico on their evaluation of product reformulation after front-of-pack warning labels were required!

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to be part of the 20 Congreso de Investigación en Salud Pública (CONGISP) and VIII Congreso Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Salud Global in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It was an honor to present the work we have developed alongside the amazing team at the CIAPEC-INTA and Global Food Research Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Beyond sharing our research, this congress was an invaluable opportunity to connect with colleagues from across Latin America. Every conversation reaffirmed the importance of generating and amplifying evidence from our region to address global health and nutrition challenges. While it is always a great honor to represent Honduras in these spaces, my greatest hope is to see more Honduran and Central American researchers presenting their work internationally. Let’s continue advancing science from our region and for our people!

Check out our freshly updated fact sheet on school food environment policies! Includes expanded info. on five key nutrition policy interventions in & around schools, a selection of country policy spotlights, and examples of industry tactics to avoid or undermine school nutrition policies. https://lnkd.in/eChGk9DK #SchoolFood #SchoolMeals #SchoolNutrition #CompetitiveFoods #FoodMarketing

Comment from Barry Popkin, Shu Wen Ng, and Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD out in Nature Food today: Food industry’s ultra-processed products exploit our innate preferences for sugar, salt, and fat with the goal of encouraging overconsumption and maximizing profit. The result: Increased obesity & other nutrition-related diseases + environmental harms worldwide and accelerating most rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. Authors suggest urgent public policy action — taxes, marketing restrictions, mandatory front-of-package warning labels, healthy food subsidies — and more research on how/why ultra-processed foods harm health. https://lnkd.in/eTHkzGPy

We are looking for summer interns! CSPI is offering six paid internships for our 10-week summer term. These positions are full-time, with two paid holidays and up to two days of paid sick leave. All internships are remote (must be in the US), with the opportunity to work from our DC office if desired. The hourly pay rate is $17.50, which will increase to $18.00 on July 1, 2025 (this may be adjusted to meet state/local minimum wage laws related to the work location). Check out CSPI's Career page to apply! 👇 https://lnkd.in/dHGwPRSu

How did ultra-processed foods capture the baby and toddler market? Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD quoted in STAT news on sugar-laden toddler milks, snack foods, issues of food prep time and affordability, and policy solutions: https://lnkd.in/e3chVP98

New paper from Barry Popkin & Amos Laar, PhD outlines the urgent need to address rapid global increases in ultra-processed food intake among infants and toddlers. Policy options discussed include expanding the WHO Code on marketing to protect 0–3-year-olds and applying front-of-package warning labels on products for children ages 0–3 years to encourage removal of all added sugar and limit sodium in foods and beverages they commonly consume. Read more in Pediatric Obesity: https://lnkd.in/esQT2SJU #ultraprocessedfoods #infantfoods #toddlerfoods #foodmarketing #FOP

🆕📄 ¡Nuevo artículo de investigadoras CIAPEC INTA Uchile y Global Food Research Program at UNC-Chapel Hill publicado BMC Medicine demuestra que el etiquetado frontal permite compras más saludables! 🔍 La investigación de Natalia Rebolledo (et al) analizó cómo cambió la composición de los alimentos envasados tras la implementación total de la Ley de Etiquetado y Publicidad de Alimentos en Chile. 🔍 Principales hallazgos: ✅ Menos productos “altos en” nutrientes críticos: En 2016, el 70.8% de los productos eran “altos en” sodio, azúcares o grasas saturadas. 📉En 2020, tras la aplicación total de la ley, bajó al 52.5%. 👉Revisa nuestras gráficas y accede al paper en: https://lnkd.in/ecT8bQtX

New study evaluates product reformulation in the Chilean food supply after 3 phases of the country's front-of-package label law. The proportion of foods requiring nutrient warning labels dropped from 71% before the law to 53% once fully implemented, with the greatest reductions seen for sodium in savory foods and sugars in sweet foods and beverages. Congratulations to authors Natalia Rebolledo, Pedro Ferrer Rosende, Marcela Reyes Jedlicki, Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD, and Camila Corvalan from CIAPEC-INTA & UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health https://lnkd.in/ecT8bQtX