Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research
Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies are common and grant companies the exclusive right to serve, sell, and market specific beverages on campuses. In exchange, universities receive financial payments and other incentives. At the same time, beverage industry-sponsored...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522002042 |
| _version_ | 1818478087798521856 |
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| author | Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon Elyse R. Grossman Eva Greenthal Stephanie A. Lucas Katherine Marx Martha Ruffin |
| author_facet | Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon Elyse R. Grossman Eva Greenthal Stephanie A. Lucas Katherine Marx Martha Ruffin |
| author_sort | Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies are common and grant companies the exclusive right to serve, sell, and market specific beverages on campuses. In exchange, universities receive financial payments and other incentives. At the same time, beverage industry-sponsored research at universities has increased. Pouring rights contracts may include provisions that allocate funds for or place limitations on scientific research. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed whether pouring rights contracts contained provisions that allocated funds for or placed limitations on scientific research. From 2019 to 2020, we obtained contracts through requests under public records laws from US universities (public, 4-year, ≥ 20,000 students) with contracts active 2018–2019. Of the 143 requests, 6 did not have contracts and 9 declined to provide contracts. Our final sample included 131 contracts from 124 universities in 38 states. Thirty contracts (22.9%) referenced research (18 Coke; 12 Pepsi). Three contracts (2.3%) included provisions that made direct grants or gifts of research funding, 3 (2.3%) permitted the university to acknowledge funding from competitors, and 26 (19.8%) allowed for research using beverages from competing companies. Given increases in industry-sponsored research, the absence of provisions that made direct grants or gifts of research funding suggests that sponsorship of research is occurring through other mechanisms. Additionally, universities must be able to acknowledge funding and conduct research on any beverage and should not need permission via contract provisions to do so. Future studies should consider practical implications of these provisions in pouring rights contracts and assess whether they facilitate or hinder research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:43:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-556c3b3cab614acda5e25e4cb777d5f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:43:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-556c3b3cab614acda5e25e4cb777d5f42022-12-22T01:53:55ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552022-08-0128101897Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific researchSara E. Benjamin-Neelon0Elyse R. Grossman1Eva Greenthal2Stephanie A. Lucas3Katherine Marx4Martha Ruffin5Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States; Department of International Health, Division of Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States; Corresponding author.Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United StatesCenter for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, DC 20005, United StatesLucas Consulting, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464, United StatesCenter for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, DC 20005, United StatesDepartment of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United StatesPouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies are common and grant companies the exclusive right to serve, sell, and market specific beverages on campuses. In exchange, universities receive financial payments and other incentives. At the same time, beverage industry-sponsored research at universities has increased. Pouring rights contracts may include provisions that allocate funds for or place limitations on scientific research. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed whether pouring rights contracts contained provisions that allocated funds for or placed limitations on scientific research. From 2019 to 2020, we obtained contracts through requests under public records laws from US universities (public, 4-year, ≥ 20,000 students) with contracts active 2018–2019. Of the 143 requests, 6 did not have contracts and 9 declined to provide contracts. Our final sample included 131 contracts from 124 universities in 38 states. Thirty contracts (22.9%) referenced research (18 Coke; 12 Pepsi). Three contracts (2.3%) included provisions that made direct grants or gifts of research funding, 3 (2.3%) permitted the university to acknowledge funding from competitors, and 26 (19.8%) allowed for research using beverages from competing companies. Given increases in industry-sponsored research, the absence of provisions that made direct grants or gifts of research funding suggests that sponsorship of research is occurring through other mechanisms. Additionally, universities must be able to acknowledge funding and conduct research on any beverage and should not need permission via contract provisions to do so. Future studies should consider practical implications of these provisions in pouring rights contracts and assess whether they facilitate or hinder research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522002042Academic integrityIndustry-sponsored researchNutrition researchSoft drinksSugar-sweetened beverages |
| spellingShingle | Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon Elyse R. Grossman Eva Greenthal Stephanie A. Lucas Katherine Marx Martha Ruffin Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research Preventive Medicine Reports Academic integrity Industry-sponsored research Nutrition research Soft drinks Sugar-sweetened beverages |
| title | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research |
| title_full | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research |
| title_fullStr | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research |
| title_short | Pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies: Provisions related to scientific research |
| title_sort | pouring rights contracts between universities and beverage companies provisions related to scientific research |
| topic | Academic integrity Industry-sponsored research Nutrition research Soft drinks Sugar-sweetened beverages |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522002042 |
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