Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Latest from Food Politics: Russia seizes Nestlé's assets over support for Ukraine

FoodNavigator. com ran this item a couple of weeks ago.   I haven’t seen much about it in the US press. Nestlé Russia falls under Kremlin control: Food and beverage giant vows to protect its rights after Russia transfers control of local business ...
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By Marion Nestle

Russia seizes Nestlé’s assets over support for Ukraine

FoodNavigator.com ran this item a couple of weeks ago.  I haven’t seen much about it in the US press.

Nestlé Russia falls under Kremlin control: Food and beverage giant vows to protect its rights after Russia transfers control of local business to state-appointed administrator. Read more

Apparently, Russia is transferring Nestlé’s assets to LEV Management based in Moscow.  Not much is known about that company; it was created in 2025 and nobody knows what it does, according to the account in Le Monde, 

Russian authorities have seized the businesses and assets of Swiss food giant Nestlé and three French groups, a move the Kremlin defended Friday, September 18, as a justified measure against firms representing “unfriendly countries” that back Ukraine.

Le Monde quotes Nestlé as saying the company is “assessing the situation and its options.” Nestlé is said to have 6 factories in Russia employing around 7,000 people, who produce coffee, pet care, infant nutrition and confectionary products.  Russia accounts for about 1% of the group’s sales, down from around 2% before the Ukraine war.

Nestlé (no relation) is a huge company in 185 countries with 271,000 employees, sales of $89.5 billion and 30 brands generation a $billion or more annually.

The seizure won’t hurt Nestlé much (we can ask why Nestlé was in Putin’s Russia in the first place) but it’s a sure sign that US food companies need to get out of there.

As I keep saying, the food industry is in big trouble these days.  Here is one more piece of evidence.

The post Russia seizes Nestlé’s assets over support for Ukraine appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle

    

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Now Available: What to Eat Now

My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out!

It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously.

For more information and to order, click here.

You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs.


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Marion Nestle

Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita


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Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Latest from Food Politics: Most studies criticizing the Nova classification of ultra-processed foods are funded by food companies

Jerry Mande of Nourish Science sent me this item from The Examination: Junk food researcher finds hidden hand in ultraprocessed foods debate. This, in turn, referred to Nine in ten research papers disputing definition of ultraprocessed foods have ...
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By Marion Nestle

Most studies criticizing the Nova classification of ultra-processed foods are funded by food companies

Jerry Mande of Nourish Science sent me this item from The Examination: Junk food researcher finds hidden hand in ultraprocessed foods debate.

This, in turn, referred to Nine in ten research papers disputing definition of ultraprocessed foods have industry ties, study finds.

This, in further turn, referred to a study in the American Journal of Public Health: Characterizing Food Industry Affiliations Among Critics of the Nova Food Classification System: A Systematic Review. Am J Public Health. 2026 Nov;116(11):1790-1799. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308691. Epub 2026 Sep 17.

Results

Of 69 articles from 2009 to 2025 criticizing the Nova classification system for ultra-processed foods or defending ultra-processed foods:

  • 91.3% involved at least 1 industry-affiliated author
  • 68.5% of 232 total authors had food industry ties
  • 65.2% of articles were published in journals associated with nutrition societies with disclosed industry partnerships.

Arguments defending or promoting ultraprocessed foods appeared in

  • 39.7% of articles with direct industry ties
  • 60.0% with organizational or governmental industry ties
  • 16.7% of articles with no identified ties.

Conclusion

Given the tobacco industry’s well-documented strategy of manufacturing academic doubt about its products’ harms, these findings raise concern that the food industry may be following a similar playbook as evidence for the health risks of ultraprocessed foods continues to grow.

Comment

These results certainly do raise concern.  They confirm what I’ve long suspected.  The food industry does not like the concept of ultra-processed food.  Defining it makes research possible.  This research shows diets high in ultra-processed foods to be bad for health.  If people eat less of them, sales and profits will decline (and this is already happening).  The main opposition to defining ultra-processed foods and advice to eat less of them comes from the food industry (other opposition comes from nutrition researchers who object to the focus on processing rather than nutrient content).  This study provides further evidence for the bias introduced by industry funding of research.

The bottom line: not eating too much ultra-processed junk food is likely to improve health.

The post Most studies criticizing the Nova classification of ultra-processed foods are funded by food companies appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle

Now Available: What to Eat Now

My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out!

It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously.

For more information and to order, click here.

You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs.


​​​​​​​

Marion Nestle

Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita


© Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us.

If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe.


Latest from Food Politics: Russia seizes Nestlé's assets over support for Ukraine

FoodNavigator. com ran this item a couple of weeks ago.   I haven’t seen much about it in the US press. Nestlé Russia falls under Kremlin ...