Food giants are going to enormous lengths to obfuscate US government health messages on healthy eating, according to a recent symposium held in Washington, DC, by a consumer advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, on how corporations seek to influence science and science policy.

“Food is big business, $1.3 trillion [£0.8 trillion; €1.2 trillion] in revenue yearly,” said Dr Marion Nestle from the department of food and nutrition studies, New York University. “It supplies an average of 3900 kilocalories [16.3MJ] daily [the recommended daily intake is 2200-2500 kilocalories …