Brokers, prestige and information exchange in the European Union’s functional food sector – A policy network analysis

Abstract

This paper focuses on policy networks and implications surrounding the complex legal requirements on functional foods in the European Union (EU). Using social network analysis, we empirically identify relevant network actors, both private and public, and quantitatively analyse network structures in terms of reputation, information exchange, and communication. Although private network actors outnumber public network actors, their importance is incontrovertible higher. The study identifies the European Commissions’ Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), FoodDrinkEurope, and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) as the three most powerful network actors; among Council members, Great Britain vested an outstanding position before Brexit. Overall, the findings paint a precise picture of the functional food policy domain network in the EU by linking formal legislative decision-making and informal interest intermediation in policy formulation. Thus, our research shows the importance of information for network actors’ strategic positive positioning.

Keywords

• Functional foods
• Health claims
• Information exchange
• Interest groups
• Network analysis
• Policy networks