The International Association of Physicians of Nutrition (PAN) urges the integration of nutrition into health policy, arguing that nutrition is critical to empowering professionals and promoting healthy diets.
This opens the door for policymakers to strengthen and set standards, incentives, and accountability mechanisms that align with preventive care and dietary strategies. It also provides innovative opportunities for the nutrition industry to reformulate products into healthier alternatives.
nutrition insights We speak to Dr. Roberta Alessandrini, Director of PAN’s Dietary Guidelines Initiative, and Federica Amiconi, EU Spokesperson. They tell us about how companies should position themselves to gain competitive advantage, the critical need for restructuring, and current obstacles to international markets.
Alessandrini explains how the intertwining of nutrition and healthcare could reshape the demand for functional ingredients, fortified products, plant-based proteins, and medically formulated foods.
“We see the same pattern every day in health care settings. People want to do the right thing, but the dietary environment often makes healthy choices difficult choices. When nutrition is properly integrated into health care, things start to change because we address nutrition consistently and early, not just after a health problem has already occurred.”
This is likely to increase demand for nutritional products that truly support prevention and treatment, she says.
“In the medical sector, products need to complement, rather than replace, healthy dietary patterns. From a practical perspective, we will see an increase in demand for minimally processed plant-based foods as medical professionals provide more consistent advice to increase intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts.”
Alessandrini explains more about nutritious protein alternatives. “For example, demand for products such as tofu, tempeh, seitan and plant-based mince, as well as bean burgers and textured plant proteins, is likely to increase, with the focus shifting from ideology to evidence and overall nutritional quality. Although the latter products are often perceived as ultra-processed, evidence shows It can support long-term health. ”
It also points to properly fortified products with clearer guidance on nutrients such as vitamin B12, iodine, iron and vitamin D.
“If you have nutrition, part of health carethe opportunities are real, but so are the expectations. Products must earn clinical trust through evidence, transparency, and alignment with dietary guideline principles, including planetary health. ”
Amiconi says that by aligning product development with public health goals, the nutrition industry can position itself constructively during this transition.be siloed
Regarding current obstacles to collaboration between health policy, nutrition, and agriculture, Amiconi says it often stems from silos.
“Health, agricultural, and economic and industrial policies have historically been developed separately, often led by different ministries with different goals, timelines, and success metrics. As a result, policies can move in different directions, making ‘policy coherence’ difficult in practice.”
Progress typically requires making cross-sector collaboration the norm in policymaking. She explains: “That means clearer shared goals across government, better coordination between departments, and a comprehensive approach that brings public health, agriculture, industry and civil society into the same conversation early on, not just at the end.”
“The nutrition industry can position itself constructively during this transition by aligning product development with public health goals and policy direction.”
One practical route, Amiconi suggests, is reformulating formulations to meet stricter thresholds for products high in salt, sugar and saturated fat, while moving toward more nutritious products and healthier defaults, for example.
“The industry can also support clear, comparable standards and transparent reporting, making it easier to build trust and measure progress.”
The challenge of regulatory consistency
Incorporating nutrition into policy is also a challenge with global regulatory changes for multinational food and ingredient suppliers seeking consistency in regulations and formulations.
Alessandrini details how fragmented national dietary guidelines create real complexity for multinational food and ingredient suppliers.
“Different nutritional goals, labeling rules, and formulation change expectations can make it difficult to standardize products and plan supply chains across markets. But fragmentation also highlights larger issues, especially when it comes to sugar, salt, and saturated fat, where the same brand often sells completely different versions of the same product in different countries.”
“When nutritional standards and formulation change goals are strengthened, products tend to be healthier. When regulations are weak, formulations are often not aligned with public health goals.”
Alessandrini emphasizes that fragmentation raises practical and ethical issues. “It’s difficult to manage multiple standards, but it’s also difficult to justify why some people end up getting a less healthy product simply because it has less protection.”
Strengthening collaboration between countries would help, but that’s no reason for the industry to wait for full consistency across the world before developing more nutritious products, she says.
“Companies can set higher in-house nutritional standards and apply them across markets wherever possible, so formulating healthier products is not limited to the most stringently regulated countries.”
Alessandrini emphasizes that waiting for national coordination is no reason for the industry to refrain from innovating nutritious products.politics and economy
In terms of how the nutrition industry can prepare for such changes, Amiconi suggests financial instruments such as subsidies. taxationPrice reform is likely to influence what people buy, as price is a major factor in food choices.
She explains that if used properly, these measures can make healthier, lower-impact foods more affordable and accessible, making unhealthy options less attractive and supporting national health outcomes.
“In practice, the bigger challenges are usually political rather than technical. Many governments favor incremental measures over larger, more coordinated policy measures, which means changes are often gradual and can vary widely from country to country.”
“Industry can prepare by anticipating that policy will move in a healthier direction. This includes diversifying portfolios, investing in formulation changes, and setting higher in-house nutritional standards rather than waiting for minimum legal requirements to change.”
Amiconi concludes that companies that do this early are in a better position to adapt to evolving pricing and meet the changing expectations of policymakers and consumers.