Corporate political activity of the food industry in Portugal: analysis of documents and interviews

Background

Corporate political activity (CPA) refers to the strategies and practices through which commercial actors shape public policy to protect and advance their interests. Portugal has been leading several progressive nutrition policies since 2012, making it a relevant setting to examine how such influence is exercised. This study provides an updated analysis integrating both framing and action strategies used by the food industry in Portugal.

Methods

Using the INFORMAS protocol, we systematically collected publicly available materials, published between 2022 and 2023, from 25 major food industry actors in Portugal, and identified them via Euromonitor market data. Sources included corporate, policy-related, academic, and health professional websites. Data were coded using Ulucanlar’s framework and triangulated with 18 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2024 across academia, government, industry, civil society, public health and media.

Results

We identified 799 action strategies and 534 framing strategies. Action strategies focused on reputation management and the displacement of public health functions through corporate social responsibility, partnerships with public institutions, education initiatives, sponsored scientific events, voluntary reformulation agreements, media engagement, and industry-aligned research. Framing portrayed corporations as “good actors” contributing to health, sustainability, and the economy, alongside narratives emphasising individual responsibility. CPA was concentrated among major retailers, multinationals, and some nationally prominent manufacturers. Trade associations were linked to policy engagement. Interviews confirmed these patterns and revealed informal access to policy.

Conclusions

CPA in Portugal is predominantly enacted through reputation management and the displacement of public health roles. These strategies operate within co-regulatory arrangements and may constrain the effectiveness of public health policies.

Key messages

• Corporate political activity of the food industry in Portugal is driven by reputation strategies, displacement of public health roles, and informal access shaping policy processes.

• Co-regulatory arrangements and partnerships may enable corporate influence, potentially constraining effective public health policy.