Introduction: Unhealthy food marketing normalises unhealthy foods in everyday life and encourages unhealthy food preference, purchase and consumption. Food companies are increasingly using digital platforms to market their brands and food products. Use of big data, leveraging complex algorithms, analytics, and artificial intelligence has made digital food marketing distinct, engaging and more impactful than traditional marketing. Global spending by food and beverage companies on digital marketing has also increased in recent times. In Nepal, there is some indication that children and adolescents are exposed to aggressive marketing for unhealthy foods and beverages. This may increase the risk of overweight and obesity making it a substantial public health challenge. However, no study has quantified adolescents’ actual exposure to digital food marketing exposure in Nepal or anywhere across South Asia. We aimed to quantify the extent and nature of unhealthy food marketing through digital devices of adolescents in Nepal.

Methods: Data was collected from 100 adolescents aged 13-17 years from Kathmandu, Nepal. Real-time digital device screen recordings were collected for 30 minutes from each participant while they used the internet, followed by an online survey. Using a standardised coding framework, all screen recordings are being manually analysed to understand daily exposure to unhealthy food marketing, the type of marketing content and the mode of content delivery.

Results: Findings from screen recordings of 31 participants showed that on average, adolescents were exposed to 8.35 food brands per 30 minutes of screen time. Most of the marketing contents were considered user-generated content (73.75%), followed by ‘paid’ (21.23%) and ‘owned’ (5.02%) marketing.

Conclusion: Nepalese adolescents are exposed to high volumes of unhealthy food advertisements when online, likely increasing their risk of overweight and obesity. Findings can be used by advocates and policy makers to develop and implement actions that protect children and adolescents from digital food marketing in Nepal.

Introduction: Unhealthy food and beverage advertising influences food preferences and consumption, making it a priority for public health policy interventions. To implement effective and consistent restrictions, a fit-for-purpose system is needed to determine which foods and beverages may not be advertised. As no such system existed for local government use, this study aimed to develop and refine a food classification system (FCS) for restricting outdoor advertising of unhealthy food in Australia on local government property and assets.

Methods: The Scarborough protocol was adapted to guide development, underpinned by principles of fairness and transparency. The FCS used a food-category approach aligned with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, with categories based on the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region Nutrient Profile Model, and supplemented with population-specific examples of permitted and restricted foods. A Nutrition Reference Group provided independent advice, and a panel of end-users (n=22) tested the FCS with 60 advertisements spanning all food groups, offering suggestions on refinements. Thematic analysis of this feedback informed refinements made to the final FCS.

Results: Fourteen end-users, including local government officers and supporting organisations, classified the advertisements and provided input. For 87% (52/60) of the advertisements, most end-users classified them in line with the intended decision. Analysis of 81 free-text comments identified refinements needed such as improved clarity for certain foods/beverages, reducing reliance on ingredient lists, and addressing over-leniency in some categories. Other revisions included adding missing items (e.g., plant-based burgers, flavoured iced tea).

Conclusion: The Australian Food Advertising Assessment tool is a rigorously developed system to support consistent restriction of unhealthy food and beverage advertising on local government property. The tool will now undergo further evaluation including an assessment of the proportion of advertisements it restricts, after which broad dissemination will occur.

Problem:

A health levy on sugary drinks is widely recommended by Australian and international public health organisations and has been implemented in nearly 120 countries around the world. Evidence shows it is effective in encouraging drink manufacturers to reduce sugar in their products, in driving consumers to choose lower sugar products, and in raising government revenue. Australia is falling behind international best practice, and action is urgently needed to curb diet-related disease.

In Australia, a health levy on sugary drinks is widely supported by the sector and is also reflected in government strategies and parliamentary reports. Until now, there has not been a clear agreed public health position on how a levy should be designed and implemented in Australia.

What we did:

We developed an aligned public health position on a sugary drinks levy in Australia. Food for Health Alliance secured philanthropic funding to support the project. First steps were to establish an advisory group of public health and consumer organisations and academic experts on sugary drink taxes to inform the development of an aligned policy position. This was then taken more widely for endorsement by other organisations to support aligned advocacy.

This presentation will set out the steps we took to develop an aligned policy position, including:
• Developing the project aim and scope
• Identification of key issues and discussion points
• Assessment of evidence and strategic considerations
• Interaction with concurrent message testing project
• Policy discussion and wider stakeholder engagement
• Endorsement process

Results:

The presentation will discuss the steps and outcomes of this policy development process and the final policy outlined in the position statement.

It will also include discussion of how the policy platform has been used and will be used to support advocacy by the sector.

Lessons:

The presentation will set out major successes and challenges throughout the policy development process and offer key suggestions to other organisations considering a similar process.

Background: With current research largely focusing on physical shelves, there is limited health-focused and consumer-based analysis of online food retail environments. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutrition, allergens, ingredient content, claims, transparency and consumer perceptions of packaged snack foods in the online food retail environment. Methods: Data on 150 “Best Sellers” products from Amazon Foods Australia, including Biscuits, Mints and Gums, and Fruit and Chewy Lollies, were web-scraped across April-June 2025. Variables extracted included nutrition composition, ingredients, allergens, price, popularity metrics (rating and reviews), and marketing features (nutrition and health claims, buzzwords, and dietary tags). A qualitative thematic analysis of consumer reviews identified both pre-defined and emergent themes reflecting taste, health, value, and purchase motivations. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and through multiple linear regression to explore relationships between nutritional quality, price and consumer popularity. Coding reliability was verified through inter-rater checking. Results: Nutrition information panels were available on only 47% to 57% of product listings, depending on the category. Allergen information was least available for Mints and Gums (29%), while Biscuits had the lowest availability of ingredient lists (52%). Products with higher energy, carbohydrate, and sugar content were more likely to receive a greater proportion of five-star ratings. Across all products, 100 nutrition content claims and 102 health claims were identified; however, only 45 nutrition claims and 5 health claims could be validated. Among 1,073 consumer reviews, taste and value were the most frequently mentioned themes. Products high in protein and dietary fibre, and low in carbohydrates and sugars, were associated with positive reviews related to nutrition facts. Conclusions: Packaged snack foods lack transparent information online, with minimal regulation leading to poor labelling and unregulated claims. This supports the need for stricter regulations and further research in this constantly evolving digital landscape.

Introduction:
Foods for infants and toddlers should be nutritious, and developmentally appropriate, while avoiding those high in salt, sugar and saturated fat. From 12 months, toddlers should eat foods aligned with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, however, the diets of many Australian infants and toddlers fall short, with high consumption of discretionary foods and inadequate intake of vegetables. Commercial foods for infants and toddlers are widely displayed in Australian supermarkets. While many parents perceive these products as nutritious, research indicates they often lack essential nutrients. This study aimed to investigate how frequently, and in what ways commercial infant and toddler foods are promoted in Australian supermarket catalogues.
Methods:
Over a 12-week period from August to October 2023, digital catalogues from four major Australian supermarket chains (Woolworths, Coles, IGA and ALDI) were collected and analysed (n = 60 catalogues, comprising 2206 pages). A structured coding guide was used to identify all advertised infant and toddler food products, documenting the age range indicated on the label, product category, packaging format, and promotional strategies present.
Results:
Across 49 pages (3.5% of total pages), 121 commercial infant and toddler food products were identified. The most frequently promoted categories included fruit purees (40%), snacks (27%), and confectionery (12%). Of these, 74% were marketed for infants under 12 months, while 26% targeted toddlers aged 12–36 months. Half of the products were packaged in pouches. Promotional techniques primarily focused on price discounts (95%) and health-related claims (20%).
Conclusion:
The types of foods promoted for infants and toddlers in Australian supermarket catalogues do not align with the recommendations outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines or The World Health Organization. There is a pressing need to limit the marketing of packaged commercial foods for infants and toddlers in these catalogues to better support healthy eating habits during early childhood.

Introduction: Commercial foods for infants and toddlers (6 months to 3 years) are heavily marketed using promotional claims. These claims influence parents’ perceptions and purchasing behaviours, despite many products failing to meet nutritional standards. This study quantified front-of-pack claims on foods for infants and toddlers and compared these against the requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Methods: Using an automated data scraping tool we collected product information and front-of-pack images of all infant and toddler foods available online in Australia’s two major supermarkets (n=237 products). All front-of-pack claims were manually extracted into Microsoft Excel and categorised using a coding framework based on definitions of Nutrition, Health and Related claims under Standard 1.2.7 of the Food Standards Code.

Results: All products displayed front-of-pack claims. 64% of observed claims were not subject to regulation by the Food Standards Code. Unregulated claims promoted the following product features: natural or organic (40%), child development (23%), contains good ingredients (18%), free from undesirable ingredients (12%), and convenience (7%). Many unregulated claims implied benefits for children’s health and development such as ‘‘full of good stuff’, ‘plus nothing else’, ‘do what’s natural’, and ‘encourages self feeding’. 36% of observed claims were regulated Nutrition Content Claims under the Food Standards Code. These included claims such as ‘no added sugar’, ‘no artificial colours or flavours’, and ‘made with prebiotics’. Whilst compliant with the Code, these claims risk misleading parents when used on products that are not nutritionally or developmentally appropriate.

Conclusion: Claims that imply benefits for children’s health and development are widespread on foods for infants and toddlers in Australia, yet many remain outside regulatory control. Strengthening the Food Standards Code is critical to close regulatory gaps that permit nutrition content claims on unhealthy products and curb the extensive use of unregulated claims.

The marketing of unhealthy food and drink has been shown to negatively impact health outcomes and increase disease risk. In 2025, South Australia implemented a ban on advertising these products on public transport assets, reflecting growing recognition of commercial determinants of health as a significant public health issue. This policy change prompted the Gold Coast Public Health Unit to conduct a cross-sectional observational study to assess the extent of unhealthy food and beverage advertising on public transport routes commonly used by school children.

Advertisements at 139 train, tram, and bus stops servicing 30 government schools on the Gold Coast were recorded between July and September 2025. Observations were conducted during typical school commute times, either 7-9am or 2-4pm. An additional 15-minute observation period was performed at the bus stop nearest each school to capture advertisements on passing buses. Advertisements were classified according to the Council of Australian Governments’ National interim guide to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food and drink promotion - Food and drink categories not recommended for promotion.

Of the 139 stops, 48% (n=67) had advertisements. A total of 345 advertisements were recorded, of which 89 (26%) were classified as food or drink not recommended for promotion. Train stations had the highest proportion of unhealthy advertisements at 80% (36/45), followed by tram stops at 47% (23/49), then bus stops at 20% (30/147). The most frequently observed categories were sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) (n=35), particularly on train stations (n=20), and unhealthy meals from quick service restaurants (n=26).

A high number of unhealthy food and drink advertisements were identified on public transport sites, particularly SSBs at train stations. These results are consistent with interjurisdictional findings and can be used to advocate for and leverage local change for improved public policy on advertising of unhealthy food and drink on public assets.

Introduction: The rising use of commercial foods for infants and young children reflects shifts in caregiving shaped by household routines and logistical demands. While these products offer convenience, concerns persist about their nutritional adequacy and marketing strategies targeting both caregivers and children. This study examined changes in child-appealing marketing on food packaging by comparing products available in 2015 and 2024 in Australia.
Methods: Using data from the George Institute for Global Health’s FoodSwitch database, 311 products from 2015 and 298 from 2024 were analysed. A structured coding framework identified 20 marketing techniques, including 11 core techniques targeting children (primarily visual) and 9 broad techniques aimed at caregivers (primarily textual). This study assessed changes in prevalence, types of marketing techniques, and overall marketing intensity using the median power score, calculated as the sum of core and broad technique scores.
Results: Findings show a rise in both prevalence (from 73% to 89.9%, p<0.001) and intensity (median score from 5.0 [IQR 4.0 to 6.0] to 6.0 [IQR 6.0 to 7.0], p<0.001). The most notable increases in core techniques were in appeals to fun or cool, which are strategies linking products with enjoyment, rising from 48.2% to 79.2% (p<0.001), and the use of branded characters or spokespersons (33.8% to 62.4%, p<0.001). Among broad techniques, appeals to product benefits such as value, convenience, and sustainability also increased (from 48.2% to 79.2%, p=0.003). Meanwhile, some techniques declined, such as non-child-specific logos or images (from 98.4% to 94.6%, p=0.011) and promotions for websites, social media, or rewards (from 28.3% to 6.7%, p <0.001).
Conclusion: These results highlight the growing prevalence and intensity of packaging-based marketing on commercial foods for infants and young children, revealing gaps in health policy. Stronger regulations are needed to ensure packaging supports healthier food environments for young children.

Introduction
Despite growing interest in sustainable consumption, limited research has explored how consumers interpret sustainability information on food packaging. This study aimed to explore Australian consumers’ awareness and perceptions of sustainability labelling, its role in food choices, and suggestions for implementing dual labelling systems that display product nutrition and sustainability information simultaneously.

Methods
A qualitative study was conducted using focus group discussions. The study sample was stratified by age, sex, and location (metro vs regional). A total of 12 focus groups were conducted, involving 112 participants from three Australian states: New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. Participants discussed their perceptions of current sustainability labelling on food packages and suitable ways to display dual labelling on food packages. Data were analysed thematically.

Results
Four main themes emerged: (1) participants often did not prioritise environmental sustainability when making food choices; (2) price sensitivity and health concerns generally took precedence over environmental sustainability; (3) barriers to adopting sustainability labels involved scepticism, misinterpretation, and mistrust caused by the proliferation of claims and lack of standardisation; and (4) labelling systems proposed included evidence-based sustainability labels endorsed by trusted organisations, having comprehensive information, with product nutrition and sustainability information displayed separately.

Conclusion
Participants reported minimal engagement with sustainability labels, frequently prioritising cost and healthiness of foods. Lack of trust and poor label comprehension were often noted as barriers to the effectiveness of labels. A clear, trustworthy, and uniform approach to sustainability labelling, displayed separately from nutrition information, was suggested as a means to encourage healthier and more sustainable food selections.

Remote communities in the Northern Territory currently experience some of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, with full sugar soft drinks being one of the main contributors to the high intakes of free sugars. In retail, the placement and promotion of products is a key commercial determinant of health, where discretionary products are often favoured. To support customers to make healthier choices, maintain store profitability, and provide autonomy of choice, it is important for remote community stores to innovate and implement supportive health-promoting strategies.

Outback Stores, alongside local community store owners, implemented the ‘Ambient Drinks Strategy’ across five remote community stores between FY23 and FY25. This community driven strategy involves the relocation of full sugar soft drinks larger than 600ml from the refrigerators to the shelves, where they are sold at ambient temperature. The aims of this strategy are to steer customers towards healthier alternatives and reduced pack sizes of full sugar drinks. More recently, the strategy was implemented at a remote store in the Northern Territory.

Following implementation, the proportion of full sugar soft drinks sold reduced from 56.55% to 40.31%, with an overall -19.48% proportion reduction after 20 weeks. Between Q1FY25 and Q1FY26, sales of 1L full sugar Coke decreased by 4800L (a 23.9% proportion reduction). Alongside this, 600ml full sugar Coke increased by 1525L (9.4%), and 1.25L zero sugar Coke increased by 819L (5.2%). Water sales also increased by 165L (3%). Store drink sales volume remained stable throughout the strategy.

The ambient drinks strategy proves a viable approach to support healthier purchasing choices and positive health outcomes, while still maintaining store profitability and customer choice. Through innovation and collaboration with local community store owners and suppliers, this approach harnesses the commercial determinants of health in a way that supports positive health outcomes.

Intro: Digital alcohol advertising is data-driven, ephemeral and pervasive. People are targeted online with advertising content and methods that are designed to specifically target their individual susceptibilities. This marketing happens out of sight with little to no transparency measures and is inescapable in the online environment. This study aimed to explore how targeted alcohol advertising presents in the social media feeds of Australians, including people at heightened risk of alcohol harm.

Methods: We recruited 195 Australian adults between June and August 2025 to use the novel Mobile Online Advertising Tool (MOAT) app which allows users to automatically capture the ads they see when using social media apps on their phones. Participants used the MOAT app for a 5–10-day period during usual social media use. Collected ads, along with voluntary supplied demographic information was shared by participants and a sub-sample of participants were identified for interview. This presentation will share a case study from this in-progress research project.

Results: The case study demonstrates how social media platforms can concurrently target a person with high-risk alcohol use with advertising for alcohol products and alcohol addiction counselling services. While a risk factor for alcohol harm has in essence been identified by the marketing algorithm (i.e., that alcohol addiction is likely an issue of relevance for a person), it is used to target marketing, but not to protect people at risk of harm from alcohol marketing.

Conclusions: Digital marketing models contribute to the harmful targeting of alcohol advertising online. Regulation of digital platforms must seek to address the underlying marketing models of digital platforms to ensure they are not causing harm.

Zero alcohol products (ZAPs) copy the taste and appearance of alcoholic beverages but contain little to no alcohol content. While they may serve as a harm-reduction tool when used as a substitute for alcoholic beverages, they have the potential to normalise alcohol consumption and increase young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing, extending parent alcohol brand reach to younger audiences. Due to limited evidence on how ZAPs are used, a precautionary approach toward ZAPs advertising has been recommended whereby ZAPs should abide by the same advertising rules as alcoholic beverages. Along with advertising in public places, parental supply is likely a key mechanism of youth exposure to ZAPs, yet no policy guidance exists. Public attitudes towards (i) restrictions on ZAPs advertising and (ii) parental supply of ZAPs remain unclear—such attitudes are important because public support is often a key precursor for regulatory intervention.

Using an online survey of 3,310 Australian adults, this study aimed to assess support for banning ZAPs advertisements on public transport, billboards near schools and in professional sport. We also assessed the acceptability of parental supply of ZAPs to teenagers.

Around one third of respondents supported banning ZAPs advertising on public transport and in professional sport. Almost half supported a ban near schools and disagreed with parental supply to teenagers. Greater support for restrictions and stronger disagreement with parental supply was seen among older adults and those with greater socioeconomic disadvantage.

These findings suggest modest public support for restrictions on ZAPs advertising and modest opposition towards parental supply. This may reflect limited awareness of how ZAPs can function as vehicles for alcohol promotion and youth exposure. Therefore, targeted public education is essential to counter commercial influences that harm progress toward public health goals and to build support for regulatory action that prioritises the protection of young people.