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Table 1 Food-EPI policy domains

From: The potential of food environment policies to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in diets and to improve healthy diets among lower socioeconomic groups: an umbrella review

Policy domain

Description

Food composition

Policies or standards to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply, in particular processed foods and out-of-home meals, e.g., maximum sodium levels, trans fat ban, sugar reduction schemes.

Food labelling

Policies on food labelling to help consumers make healthier, informed choices, e.g., standards for ingredient lists/nutrient declarations; health and nutrition claims; front-of-pack labelling schemes and menu labelling.

Food promotion

Policies that restrict unhealthy food promotion (marketing) to children and adolescents across relevant media and contexts (i.e., broadcast media, online and social media, non-broadcast media, settings where children gather and on food packages).

Food prices

Economic tools to incentivize healthy food purchases and disincentive unhealthy food purchases (food taxes and subsidies); food-related income support programs aimed at low SEP groups.

Food provision

Policies to promote healthy foods in schools and other public settings, e.g. nutrition standards for school meals; government-developed guidelines and support systems for food provision (for employees) in private companies

Food retail

Policies to improve access to healthy food and limit access to unhealthy foods in communities (e.g., zoning laws). Government-developed guidelines and support systems, targeted at the private sector, to promote healthier foods within food outlets or restaurants.

Food trade and investmenta

Measures to identify and minimize negative impacts of trade agreements on public health and nutrition and protect governmental regulatory capacity in relation to investments that may impact public health.

  1. Descriptions of food environment policy domains included in the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) (adapted from Swinburn 2013). a The Food trade and investment policy domain has not been considered in this study