Coca-Cola gained control over health research in return for funding, health journal says
Coca-Cola was allowed to exert influence over research it funded under agreements with several public universities, according to a report published Wednesday in the Journal of Public Health Policy.
Using Freedom of Information Act requests, researchers at the University of Cambridge identified more than 87,000 pages of documents that included five agreements between Coca-Cola and universities in the U.S. and Canada. The provisions gave Coca-Cola the right to review research in advance of the publications. It also was allowed to have control over data and disclosure of any study results.
The universities involved were Louisiana State University, University of South Carolina, University of Toronto and University of Washington.
Despite having the power to prevent publication, the researchers of the study didn’t find any hard evidence Coca-Cola exercised that right. However, the FOIA documents collected included several redactions, making a final conclusion difficult.
Researchers are concerned about the consequences of terminating corporate-funded public health research early, saying that doing so could stifle getting critical health information out to the public. The findings also support concerns by nutrition experts that the food industry may be following in the footsteps of the tobacco industry by shaping research to its benefit.
“These contracts suggest that Coke wanted the power to bury research it funded that might detract from its image or profits,” said Gary Ruskin, co-director of U.S. Right to Know, in a press release.
“With the power to trumpet positive findings and bury negative ones, Coke-funded ‘science’ seems somewhat less than science and more like an exercise in public relations.”
The beverage company tried to influence the CDC on diet and obesity issues by encouraging the agency to stop blaming sugar-sweetened beverages, POLITICO reported in January. Coca-Cola was also found to have led efforts by other U.S. junk food companies like PepsiCo, Nestlé and McDonald’s to influence China’s obesity policy through a nonprofit group, CNBC reported, also in January.
“Corporate social responsibility has to be more than just shiny websites stating progressive policies that get ignored,” said Sarah Steele, the lead author of the study, in the press release.
Coca-Cola said that it has changed its policies and doesn‘t back this type of research anymore.
“We agree research transparency and integrity are important. That’s why, since 2016, The Coca-Cola Company has not independently funded research on issues related to health and well-being in keeping with research guiding principles that have been posted publicly on our website since that time,” Coca-Cola said in a statement.
All previous research it backed has to adhere to its transparency guidelines, which includes prohibiting the company from preventing the publication of research results.