Mexico has implemented black STOP-style signs on unhealthy foods to combat the country’s rampant obesity trend. However, the project was met with fierce resistance from multinational companies and their host states. At the forefront: Nestlé and Switzerland. Documents and e-mail exchanges show how willingly the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs jumped in to defend the food giant’s commercial interests against Mexico’s health policy. According to exclusive market data obtained by Public Eye, the business at stake for Nestlé was worth more than one billion Swiss francs. The research also shows that Switzerland’s intervention in Mexico is far from being an isolated case.
