This UNICEF Programme Guidance outlines a principled and strategic approach for engaging with the food and beverage (F&B) industry to protect and promote children’s rights to nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets. Recognizing the F&B industry’s central role in shaping global and national food systems, the guidance addresses both opportunities and risks in engagement. It particularly warns against partnering with ultra-processed food (UPF) industries, whose products and practices contribute significantly to the triple burden of malnutrition and undermine public health policies.
The guidance provides 10 parameters for engagement, prioritizing public policy advocacy, responsible collaboration with selected F&B actors, and avoiding any partnerships with Code violators or UPF industries. It also emphasizes supporting governments to regulate unhealthy food marketing, improve school food environments, and foster healthy food systems. The overarching goal is to ensure UNICEF’s credibility, independence, and effectiveness in advancing children’s nutrition and health within sustainable food systems.