What are the position and power of supermarkets in the Australian food system, and the implications for public health? A systematic scoping review

Summary Supermarkets have been described as having unprecedented and disproportionate power in the food system. This scoping review synthesized the literature that describes the position and power of supermarkets in the Australian food system, and the implications for public health. A systematic sea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inObesity reviews Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 198 - 218
Main Authors Pulker, C. E., Trapp, G. S. A., Scott, J. A., Pollard, C. M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2018
Subjects
Australia
Commerce
Food
food governance
Food Industry - statistics & numerical data
Food Supply - statistics & numerical data
food system
Food systems
Humans
Literature reviews
Nutrition
Nutrition Surveys
Obesity - epidemiology
Obesity - etiology
Power
Public Health
public health nutrition
Reviews
Social Responsibility
supermarket
Supermarkets
Australia
supermarket
food governance
public health nutrition
food system
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Summary:Summary Supermarkets have been described as having unprecedented and disproportionate power in the food system. This scoping review synthesized the literature that describes the position and power of supermarkets in the Australian food system, and the implications for public health. A systematic search of peer‐reviewed and grey literature identified 68 documents that described supermarket power. Implications for public health were also recorded. Data revealed that supermarkets hold a powerful position in the Australian food system, acting as the primary gatekeepers. Supermarkets have obtained instrumental, structural and discursive power from many sources that overlap and reinforce each other. Few positive public health impacts of supermarket power were identified, providing many opportunities for improvement in the domains of food governance, the food system and public health nutrition. There is very little public health research examining the impact of supermarket power in Australia. More research is needed, and examination of supermarket own brands is of particular importance owing to their pivotal role as a source of power and their potential to improve public health outcomes, such as obesity.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1467-7881
1467-789X
DOI:10.1111/obr.12635