One of the things we are studying is the way a chip “holds” salt and salt perception. When you eat a chip, only about 20 percent of the salt actually dissolves on the tongue before the chip is chewed and swallowed while the other 80 percent is swallowed without contributing to the taste. Chips actually have comparable amounts of sodium (from salt) to other foods, such as breads and cereals, but those taste less salty because the salt is mixed in, while chips tend to taste more salty because the salt is usually on the surface.

The shape of the crystal is important because of how it interacts with your tongue. By studying the way salt functions naturally, including the shape and size of salt crystals, we will be able to better deliver the salty taste consumers want — but with less salt. The only difference between the 100 percent natural salt that we are studying and the salt that might be on your table at home is the shape. As is often the case, nature is really the best guide for us. Sea salt, for example, has a unique taste given its shape and other minerals.

Bringing a new food product to market is a very long process. It requires not only specific technology but a diversified team of food professionals including research and product development, consumer insights, regulatory, quality, procurement, engineering, nutrition, and packaging just to name a few. Using new ingredients in a product launch requires in-depth application and flavor science.  In the case of salt, we have to study not just the salt taste but also the salt functionality in food. This means things like how it helps preserves the food, affects texture, and something called “mouthfeel” which is how a product interacts in the mouth when eaten.

We know that humans have sweet and umami taste receptors, but to this point there is no known salt taste receptor. We need to understand these receptors better to try to understand salt perception.  Some studies show salt perception is through a sodium ion channel. By using spices and seasoning blends, savory flavors are often used to make up the difference in flavor when salt is taken out.  This is a common practice with chefs and seasoning developers around the world. I hope that answered the question. As always, leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

We do not expect to be judged by our words alone but rather on the basis of verifiable data. PepsiCo’s recent goals and commitments included many features that show deep change is underway. All commitments are global in scope and many include quantitative data with explicit timelines for implementation. Taken together they address most major public health recommendations for actions including those of the World Health Organization. They cover complex issues including restricted marketing to kids, the elimination of direct sales of full calorie soft drinks for primary and secondary schools by the end of next year, and quantitative targets for sodium, saturated fat and sugar levels in the coming years. Actions are underway across the company in relation to all of these health commitments as well as to a matching set of environmental ones.

As we achieve our targets, we will provide solid evidence of compliance. We would hope that colleagues in the public sector and academia will judge us on the basis of that evidence.

As a modern multinational corporation, we spend considerable time thinking about what we need to do to assure our long-term success. In doing so, we and many others across the corporate world acknowledge the importance of taking actions that might not yield immediate gains to the short term bottom line but are the right actions in terms of improving the health and environment of our future consumers.

Trans-fat removal, sodium reduction and reductions in saturated fat are a few examples of expensive undertakings executed by PepsiCo over the last few years that have not all yielded increased short-term profits. Such changes have not been demanded by governments or even consumers, but have been seen as important actions in response to scientific knowledge.

Finally, we recognise the importance of placing our research and views within the public domain for two reasons. Firstly, to allow our ideas to undergo the rigors of the peer review process, and secondly, to allow colleagues to understand where further advances in science and policy are needed to achieve public health goals. We have recently we summarized views on:

• Chronic diseases in a Globalization and Health journal (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20509876 )
• Our role in addressing undernutrition in the American Journal of Public Health (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20395578)
• Our public statements in conferences are increasingly being webcast in full (questions and responses included) and one recent debate on obesity in Australia is at http://www.themonthly.com.au/obesity-food-industry-more-problem-or-solution-2077

A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 9 out of 10 Americans exceed the limit recommended for daily sodium intake. In fact, for the group of Americans whom a lower dietary intake of sodium is important, the amount of sodium consumed was more than double the recommended limit.

The CDC report also showed that only 9.6% of U.S. adults were below the recommended dietary limit of 2,300 mg per day for sodium; and only 5.5% among the group recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day achieved that target.  Overall, the average sodium consumption for U.S. adults was 3,466 mg per day, far in excess of the 2,300 mg per day recommended.  In the group of adults recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day, the actual intake averaged 3,366 mg per day. Excess dietary intake of sodium is not just an American issue but a genuine global health concern as emphasized by the World Action on Salt and Health and the World Health Organization.

Why is an excess intake of sodium a concern?  The scientific evidence is compelling that excess dietary sodium is associated with major adverse health outcomes, and that reducing this excess can be a cost-effective action that leads to a lower rate of new heart attack and stroke, as well as a lower death rate in all Americans, especially black men and women.

It has been estimated that 77% of dietary sodium intake in the U.S. comes from processed foods while another 11 percent comes from salt added at the table or during cooking. In the CDC report, most of the daily sodium consumed came from grain products such as yeast breads (36.9%) and meats, poultry, fish, and mixtures (27.9%), followed by vegetable products (12.4%).  The USDA has produced a list of the top products that contribute the most to daily sodium intake.

For any large scale sodium reduction strategy to be effective, it must engage all members of the entire food system including ingredient manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and especially the food industry.  PepsiCo has set a global goal and has made a commitment to reduce the average amount of sodium per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2015, with a 2006 baseline. Given the capability we have today and substantial investments planned over the next 5 years, we believe we can achieve this goal.

For PepsiCo to achieve sodium reductions of 50% and greater, significant scientific and technological breakthroughs will be required and engagement of the broader scientific community is crucially needed. However, discussions of dietary sodium reductions today have typically been limited to public health officials, policy makers, health care providers and food industry scientists.  Conversations need to be broadened to include more than just these professionals. ‪

Input of scientists with expertise in taste perception; neurosensory receptor activation and signal transduction mechanisms; molecular and biophysical structure; and physiological properties of sodium salts is required to drive innovation.  We also need to engage scientists with expertise in socio-ecological determinants of lifestyle choices, behavioral economics, and choice architecture who can help nudge the public towards requesting and choosing foods and snacks with a reduced sodium content.‪

In the interim, we at PepsiCo are taking action today to increase the use of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts for which scientific evidence of health benefits exist.  In addition to our attention to sodium, we continue to invest in research and development and explore other opportunities (such as reducing added sugars, the saturated fat content, and calorie-density) to expand our product offerings.  We look forward to continuing the conversation on sodium and receiving input that may lead to even greater sodium reduction in foods without compromising taste, quality, and food safety.

References

1. CDC. Sodium Intake Among Adults — United States, 2005−2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; June 25, 2010; 59(24);746-749. URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5924a4.htm.
2. World Action on Salt and Health (WASH). Salt & Health. URL: http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/health/salt_health.htm.
3. World Health Organization. Sodium intakes around the world. Background document prepared for the Forum and Technical meeting on Reducing Salt Intake in Populations (Paris 5-7th October 2006). URL: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/Elliot-brown-2007.pdf.
4. Bibbins-Domingo K, et al. Projected Effect of Dietary Salt Reductions on Future Cardiovascular Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine February 18, 2010; 362(7):590-599. URL: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/7/590
5. PepsiCo. 2009 Annual Report. Performance with Purpose – The Promise of PepsiCo. URL: http://www.pepsico.com/annual09/human_sustainability.html.
6. USDA.  National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18; URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18w307.pdf.
7. Mattes RD, Donnelly D.  Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1991;10(4):383-393.  URL: http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/4/383?ijkey=7496e0ca4e5e9caa2531f3ceebdcad5cb082678c&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
8. USDA. Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants? DR Just, L Mancino, B Wansink (eds); Economic Research Report no. 43, June 2007. URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err43/err43.pdf.

Note: The views expressed here represent the personal views of the authors and not necessarily the views of PepsiCo, Inc.

Food Frontiers was started at the specific request of Mehmood Khan, our chief scientific officer. We have been putting an increased focus on R&D, and Mehmood has built what we think is a rather formidable team. One of the team’s requests was more communications support – they really wanted to share what they are working on. So he thought, why not a blog?

Food Frontiers is an outlet for the R&D team to talk about the work they are doing. They know that not everyone will agree with everything they write and, as we have seen, they will get some criticism. They tell me that it’s all part of the scientific process and they are happy to engage.

As clearly highlighted in my bio, I am a member of the communications team and one part of my job is helping manage this blog. I work with colleagues on our digital and social media team on this project and I support the R&D team on a variety of their communication activities – including this blog. Sometimes I post quick updates, while other times the R&D team will submit in-depth posts on a food science topic or about an event they are attending.

The process when I write a post is pretty straightforward. I write it, cross check for accuracy, and usually let my boss or co-worker proofread (my grammar and spelling always needs a second look).

The R&D team’s goal is to highlight their work, note recently released scientific papers, and provide insight into important scientific trends and events. For example, George Mensah, a leading cardiologist, told me in a meeting that he really wanted to post something on both American Heart Month and World Hypertension Day. One of his primary areas of research is the role of diet and nutrition on heart health and he had messages that he wanted to share via this blog so he wrote posts for each of those events. You will also see that the R&D team likes to send notes from the field – for example, Derek recently wrote a blog post from the Global Health Council, and the pre-meeting for the International Conference on Obesity.

As many of you are aware, because we are a public company, our legal team does have to review certain posts. So far this has been a quick review process that has not led to any significant edits. Most importantly, once legal reviews, it goes back to the original author for final approval. If the author believes any edit from legal compromises the value of the blog entry, our policy is to not post it.

I hope I’ve answered the question about our approach to the blog and how it works. We know there is always room for improvement, and we’d love to hear from our readers: Do you have any recommendations in terms of our process to make this as informative and engaging as possible? We look forward to hearing from you.

“We could start with a simple issue first: the exceptional acidity, maintained by phosphoric and citric acids, in carbonated beverages.

If you drop the sugar content, can you raise the pH without incurring microbial contamination issues?

We should talk about the consequences of chronic phosphate acidity exposure in the oral cavity, GI tract and in particular, in stomach. It has consequences in bone mineral maintenance, ion channel transport that may affect the CNS.”

To respond, I’d like to introduce Danielle Greenberg, Senior Nutrition Fellow at PepsiCo and Loretta Chappell, VP, R&D Strategy, Global Sparkling and Energy Platform at Pepsi who co-authored the post below:

“The simple answer is no….dropping the sugar content will not allow you to raise the pH without incurring microbial contamination.  A great example is bottled water which has a higher pH and no sugar but must be handled and processed within very specific guidelines to prevent microbial growth.  We formulate and/or process our products to avoid microbial growth.  Many factors contribute to a product’s microbial stability.  The factors that need to be considered include the ingredients, the pH, carbonation level, manufacturing process, etc.  Microorganisms need nutrients to grow and many ingredients we use to make beverages taste good, in addition to sugar, also provide nutrient sources.  Many products that are not heat processed will require the addition of preservatives to prevent microbial growth even if the products don’t contain sugar.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the role of phosphorus in bone health. Scientific research shows that the phosphoric acid contained in some soft drinks does not adversely affect bone health.  Soft drinks provide less than 3% of phosphorus of the normal daily phosphorus intake.  That is much less phosphorus than is found in milk and about the same as found in orange juice.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Academy of Sciences all say that phosphorus does not negatively affect bone health.  Research on the subject of soft drinks and bone health, conducted at Creighton University, funded by the dairy industry and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that phosphoric acid does not affect bone density.

The purported issue with phosphoric acid relates to a potential imbalance between phosphorus and calcium levels in the blood.  This imbalance only occurs in rare situations where there is a very high phosphorus intake and very low calcium intake. In this highly unusual situation phosphorus would have a negative impact on bone health. In all other situations phosphorus is a needed and necessary component for proper bone formation.  Adequate calcium intake through vegetables, fruits, and milk consumption should always be encouraged.   As long as calcium intake is adequate, the imbalance does not occur. Moreover, most dietary phosphorus does not come from soft drinks, but from other food sources.  Specifically, 60% of the dietary phosphorus comes from foods that are high in protein, such as milk, meats, eggs, legumes, and grains. Only about 3% of the dietary phosphorus comes from carbonated soft drinks and other beverages. Both phosphorus and calcium (along with magnesium and Vitamin D) are necessary for adequate bone health.

In terms of the stomach, it has a natural acidity in order to be able to digest food.  That acidity gives a pH of about 1 and has cells that secrete various chemicals to protect the stomach lining.  The idea that a small amount of phosphorus from a soft drink or any other source could harm the stomach lining doesn’t really have much validity.”

References:

• Storey, ML, Forshee, RA, Anderson, PA, Associations of Adequate Intake of Calcium with Diet, Beverage Consumption, and Demographic Characteristics Among Children and Asolescents, J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Feb; 23 (1):18-33; Park, Y, Meier, E, Bianchi, P, Song, W, Trends in Children’s Consumption of Beverages: 1987-1998, Family Eco. Nutr. R. 2002; 14(2):69-79.
• Grimm M, Muller A, Hein G, Funstuck R, Jahreis G., High Phosphorus Intake Only Slightly Affects Serum Minerals, Urinary Pyridinium Crosslinks And Renal Function In Young Women, Eur J Clin Nutr. 2001;55(3):153-161.
• Mendez, R.O., Gomez, M.A., Lopez, A.M., Gonzalez, H. and Wyatt, C.J. (2002) Effects of calcium and phosphorus intake and excretion on bone density in postmenopausal women in Hermosillo, Mexico. Ann Nutr Metab 46(6):249-253.
• Metz, J.A., Anderson, J.J. and Gallagher, P.N., Jr. (1993) Intakes of calcium, phosphorus, and protein, and physical-activity level are related to radial bone mass in young adult women. Am J Clin Nutr 58(4):537-542.
• United States Institute of Medicine. (1997) Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. National Academy Press, Washington DC.
• Dietary Intake of Selected Minerals for the United States Population: 1999–2000 by R. Bethene Ervin, Ph.D., R.D.; Chia-Yih Wang, Ph.D.; Jacqueline D. Wright, M.P.H.; Jocelyn Kennedy-Stephenson, M.Sc., Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys Advance Data, Vital and Health Statistics, Number 341, April 27, 2004

The meeting provided a chance to preview several major papers and discussion themes that will be highlighted during the ICO. Since the last ICO meeting  (4 years ago) there has been a continued unabated upward trend in obesity. The only notable exceptions being in some European countries where evidence of a slowdown is appearing. The most rapid increases are being reported in emerging markets.
 
Boyd Swinburn from Australia highlighted the need to simultaneously address socio-cultural and behavioral factors while tackling environmental and policy issues. Several examples of “obesogenic” socio-cultural factors were provided based on research in diverse populations in the Asia-Pacific region. They included how people value food, body size and image as well as varied attitudes to physical activity.
 
Later papers indicated how important it was to address these issues in designing community based interventions. However, despite efforts to draw upon local values and global knowledge about what works, most of the studies attempting to reduce obesity in kids that were based on school programs showed limited to no impact. This is not surprising and simply emphasizes the importance of Boyd’s call to address environmental factors alongside school improvements.
 
In my presentation I outlined several specific ways in which food companies were starting to address such factors. These include lowering the energy density and increasing the nutrient quality of products; reducing portion sizes; restricting marketing of certain products to kids; promoting calorie transparency and supporting efforts to increase physical activity. As would be anticipated, there was a lively and healthy debate about whether industry was going far enough and fast enough.  And several leading academics raised concerns about processed foods and snacks displacing fresh and minimally processed foods in emerging markets.
 
In response to these critiques I identified several areas of work where combining private and public initiatives could accelerate learning and action in relation to obesity control. These included work to shift from a volume/food quantity culture to one based on an appreciation of food quality, and a willingness to pay for this; research and action to address the reality that many of the most desired foods are relatively more expensive than those contributing to energy dense products ; investment by the public and private sectors in twenty first century nutrition science especially in developing countries; and the development of better metrics to track  and optimally manage calorie flows.
 
A prerequisite to making progress on these areas was the need to build a means of talking and working together in ways in which neither academics nor corporate players feel they need to compromise their values and beliefs.

I believe that the remaining areas of disagreement should not retard working together on issues of mutual benefit. What are some of the opportunities and challenges you see? I look forward to bloggers’ view on this critical point.

Since the announcement of our participation in ScienceBlogs.com, we’ve heard some very candid feedback from the ScienceBlogs community. As many of you have undoubtedly heard by now, the Food Frontiers blog has been removed from ScienceBlogs. In hearing the community’s feedback, we agree with this decision and feel that the best approach is to take a step back and first examine the role industry scientists, such as myself, can play in the discussion about nutrition science within the larger scientific community.

We knew going in that there would be real differences among scientists within and outside of industry. Our intent is to embrace that conversation, share what we’re doing, and have open discussions to learn from one another as we move toward real solutions. We look forward to engaging in those discussions in communities such as ScienceBlogs as well as here on Food Frontiers.

On a personal note, I joined PepsiCo as its Chief Scientific Officer because the company is committed to making a positive impact on global nutrition. In this role, I am responsible for focusing efforts and attention on nutrition science and solutions.

Since I joined the company, we’ve expanded our global research and development capability. Our network of leaders comes from diverse fields of classic nutrition science, epidemiology, endocrinology, molecular biology, agronomy and sensory science.

As we continue our work, I am enthusiastic about sharing insights while also hearing and learning from the larger scientific community online. That is why I would like to open an invitation to anyone interested in food and nutrition science to join the conversation on Food Frontiers.

We will continue to talk about specific science, nutrition and global health policy topics – and we’ll open the floor to include more voices to help us best address them through science-based solutions.

I speak for all of us when I say; we look forward to productive and substantive dialogue.

The highly-regarded Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health this week published the seventh annual edition of “F as in Fat”, a report on obesity in the U.S.  The report includes commentary by a variety of notable public figures.   Among them is PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.

The fact that the report would include comments from the leader of a food company, particularly one whose product portfolio includes treats like soft drinks and potato chips, has drawn some criticism.  The critics seem to feel there is no place for a food industry viewpoint in such a report.

I disagree.

To suggest PepsiCo and other food companies should not have a voice in the discussion of how to address global obesity seems counterproductive.

The UK Foresight Report on Obesity and the White House Report on Obesity both have spelled out roles industry can play in preventing obesity in children.  And leading food companies, including PepsiCo, have made specific commitments to obesity prevention.

Industry efforts include: reducing portion sizes and energy density through reformulation and replacement; altering marketing to make healthy choices easier; improving labeling; replacing certain products in schools; investing in research on satiety; and evolving business models to shift focus from volume to nutrition quality.

Before turning a cold shoulder on the food industry, consider how other large-scale problems have been addressed.  In my 10 years at the World Health Organization I saw private-public partnerships tangibly improve people’s lives by helping to tackle challenges ranging from AIDS and polio to motor vehicle injuries and child survival.  In every case, initial mistrust gave way to new solutions with real benefits.

This is the first time the World Heart Federation is holding the WCC in China, working in partnership with the Chinese Society of Cardiology and the Chinese Medical Association.  A recent article in a journal of the American Heart Association points to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as an urgent global public health problem that claimed more than 17 million lives in 2004. More then 230 million Chinese have some form of CVD, resulting in an annual toll of 2 million heart attacks, 7 million strokes, and 3 million deaths. The prevalence of risk factors that can lead to future CVD events is staggering, as 200 million Chinese have either high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, and 350 million are current smokers.

The Quaker symposium at the WCC will bring attendees together to share the latest science associated with reducing CVD risk factors.  As part of the symposium, Dr. Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo’s chief scientific officer, will deliver a presentation highlighting the ways PepsiCo is rethinking its product portfolio to offer more food and beverage choices that contribute to healthier living.

“At PepsiCo, we recognize our responsibility to understand the health challenges of populations around the globe and the role we can play in addressing them.  We take this responsibility very seriously, which is why we are increasing our use of wholesome and natural ingredients, reducing fat, sodium and sugar content, and actively working with global and local partners to find new ways to encourage healthier lifestyles,” said Dr. Khan.

”As one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, PepsiCo can make a positive impact in helping to reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke.  PepsiCo’s research and development activities, combined with the work we’re doing with partners in the scientific and health communities around the world, will support our efforts to promote heart health while also tackling many nutrition challenges that exist today,” said Dr. George Mensah, PepsiCo’s director of heart health and global health policy and chair of the symposium.

The Quaker symposium at the WCC is titled, “Diet, Inflammation & Cardiovascular Risk Reduction.”  It will provide a platform to share the latest science on the interaction of diet, physical activity, adiposity, and low-grade inflammation as risk factors for CVD and to discuss ways the food industry can help promote heart health. In addition to Dr Khan and Dr. Mensah, the symposium will also feature two other distinguished experts:

• Dr. Paul Ridker, MD, PhD, FACC

–Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

–Director, Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston

• Dr. Yangfeng Wu MD, PHD

–Director, The George Institute, China

–Director, Center for Evidence Based Medicine, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing

PepsiCo recently announced its commitment to achieving a set of industry-leading global nutrition goals, including:

• Increasing whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy in its portfolio
• Reducing the average saturated fat per serving in key global food brands in key markets by 15% by 2020
• Reducing the average added sugar per serving in key global beverage brands in key markets by 25% by 2020
• Reducing the average sodium per serving in key global food brands in key markets by 25% by 2015

The company also recently announced that it plans to invest an additional US$2.5 billion in China over the next three years.  As part of this investment, PepsiCo plans to broaden its portfolio to provide more food and beverage choices made with wholesome ingredients that contribute to healthier eating and drinking.  In order to accelerate expansion of its product portfolio, PepsiCo will build a world-class research and development center in China to develop products for all of Asia.

# # #

About World Congress of Cardiology Science Session Y2010

The World Congress of Cardiology Scientific Sessions is the official congress of the World Heart Federation and is held every two years. This year, WHF is hosting the congress together with the Chinese Society of Cardiology (CSC) and the Chinese Medical Association (CMA).

Through the World Congress of Cardiology, the World Heart Federation offers an international stage for the latest developments in science and public outreach in the field of cardiovascular health. The WCC Scientific Sessions are designed to attract an international audience of cardiologists and allied healthcare professionals from cardiology societies, heart foundations and organizations worldwide.

The World Congress of Cardiology places emphasis on the complementary nature of science and public outreach and strives to spread the message that through individual, community and patient care interventions, the growing epidemic of cardiovascular disease in developing countries can be reduced.

About Quaker

The Quaker Oats Company has been a leading, trusted comfort food for more than 130 years, providing the whole-grain goodness of oats in a delicious breakfast across multiple hot and cold varieties from Quaker Oatmeal to cereals and snack bars such as Quaker Life and Quaker Chewy Granola Bars.  The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world’s largest consumer packaged good companies. For more information on Quaker Oats and all its products, visit www.QuakerOats.com.

About PepsiCo

At PepsiCo, Performance with Purpose means delivering sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future.  As a global food and beverage company with respected brands like Quaker, Tropicana, and Gatorade we are reducing salt, saturated fat and added sugar and increasing the use of whole grains, fruits and vegetables in our global portfolio.  By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com

With 5 years to go before the MDG goals, set in 1990, need to be achieved, there was strong evidence of progress on several global health goals. Progress includes improved access to water, declines in under nutrition, sharp increases in vaccine coverage, and greater access to malaria bed nets. However, the attainment of these goals remains uneven with little progress evident in reducing under nutrition, particularly in two large countries – India and Nigeria – which account for 21% and 12% of all stunted kids respectively worldwide. Further, very little evidence of progress in reducing maternal deaths is reported, and across Africa and Asia, access to modern sanitation services remains poor.

My task was to reflect on the role of the private sector in contributing to more rapid progress. I highlighted the potential of food companies to address world hunger through many strategies PepsiCo already has underway, the power of companies to reduce poverty through employment creation, and the critical need to fully activate one of the most neglected MDGs - namely MDG 8 that explicitly calls for private-public partnerships.

Audience reaction was mainly positive especially when I highlighted how real progress has been made in improving vaccine access because of a massive 10-year old private-public partnership, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI). GAVI has created markets for vaccine companies to innovate and develop products for the poor, actively established an incentive system through advance purchase agreements to support long term investment by companies, and developed a new, efficient governance structure that involves the WHO and UNICEF without becoming bogged down in their bureaucracies.

I stressed that a GAVI formula for nutrition related issues seems long overdue!

For more details on the meeting, visit: www.globalhealthconference.org.