Big Food

Examining how the food industry influences public discourse and regulation, and the global spread of ultra-processed and high-sugar products.

More big food coverage

Processing agent hexane found in everyday foods, renewing concerns about toxic chemical

Researchers found residue of the petroleum-based solvent in a few dozen food products, including vegetable oil, chicken, butter, milk and infant formula.

October 10, 2025

Draft UN declaration rolls back proposed restrictions on sugary drinks, tobacco

Calls for sugar taxes and nondescript packaging for tobacco were removed during negotiations ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in September.

August 14, 2025

A scientist is paid to study maple syrup. He’s also paid to promote it.

Funded by the maple industry, a researcher has exaggerated his findings to suggest that syrup could help prevent serious diseases.

April 15, 2025

Trump administration cuts threaten already-strained food safety system

Experts say the FDA’s watchdog for America’s food supply is uniquely vulnerable to ongoing federal cutbacks – which could make the system even more reliant on companies policing themselves.

March 17, 2025

As drinking habits shift, global alcohol industry fights to stay ahead

Alcohol companies are targeting new markets and dodging regulation worldwide while excess drinking causes millions of deaths each year.

August 28, 2024

A decade after its pioneering food law, where does Chile’s obesity crisis stand?

While studies show that food products, consumer habits and awareness have changed, experts say that it can take decades for obesity rates to budge.

March 13, 2024

How lead-tainted applesauce pouches ended up in US stores

Investigations by The Examination, The New York Times and El Universo uncovered food safety lapses that caused hundreds of children to be poisoned by cinnamon that went from Sri Lanka to Ecuador to the United States.

February 29, 2024

Lead-tainted applesauce pouches sailed through gaps in US food safety system

Hundreds of American children were poisoned last year. Records show how, time and again, the contamination went unnoticed across borders.

February 27, 2024

Soda industry playbook on display in South Africa's sugar tax battle

As taxes aimed at reducing sugary drink consumption have been adopted around the world, health advocates face familiar pushback from the sweetened-beverage industry.

October 13, 2023