publication date: Jan. 10, 2020

Annals corrects NutriRECS red, processed meat papers to reflect industry-related funding from Texas A&M AgriLife

By Matthew Bin Han Ong

The Annals of Internal Medicine has published a correction to the controversial meta-analyses of health outcomes related to consumption of red and processed meat—announcing that the lead author of the journal’s “new guidelines,” Bradley Johnston, didn’t disclose funding from AgriLife Research.

In 2019, AgriLife Research, an organization at Texas A&M University, received $4.5 million in funding for beef research, of which half is sourced from industry groups, according to a report in The Washington Post. Johnston had received $76,863 from AgriLife to conduct a subsequent meta-analysis, which will be focused on fats.

“Bradley Johnston did not indicate a grant from Texas A&M AgriLife Research investigator-driven research related to saturated and polyunsaturated fats,” Annals stated in the Dec. 31 correction. “This funding is for work in the field of nutrition and the start of the funding period was within the 36-month reporting period required in Section 3 of the disclosure form of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.”

The Dec. 31 correction now appears alongside the Annals published recommendations stating that adults may continue their current level of red and processed meat consumption—a controversy that ignited a media firestorm, fueled by a conflict of interest subplot that brought the credibility of the studies into question (The Cancer Letter, Oct. 4, Oct. 11, 2019).

Christine Laine, editor-in-chief of Annals of Internal Medicine and senior vice president of the American College of Physicians, described Johnston’s lack of disclosure as a misunderstanding.

“In December, an external party provided our publisher with a copy … Continue reading Annals corrects NutriRECS red, processed meat papers to reflect industry-related funding from Texas A&M AgriLife

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