How Dr Tamryn Frank is turning the tables on unhealthy food choices
A grocery aisle filled with fresh produce and clear labels, symbolising the push for better nutrition and consumer protection in food marketing.
Image: AI Ron
A newly appointed academic at the University of the Western Cape is helping shape national food policy, with research aimed at making healthier choices more accessible and protecting consumers from misleading marketing.
Dr Tamryn Frank, based in the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape, has built a career focused on the structural drivers of poor nutrition, from supermarket shelves to university campuses.
Often jokingly referred to as the “food police”, Frank’s work centres on advocating for clearer food labelling and tighter regulation of how unhealthy foods are marketed.
“We need to change the structures, not just blame individuals,” she said, adding that policies must be practical, science-based, and designed to protect consumers.
Her research has already contributed to South Africa’s draft health regulations, including proposals that would require clear warning labels on foods high in sugar, salt, or fat. The aim is to help consumers make more informed choices at a glance.
Frank has also examined how food companies use packaging and advertising to make unhealthy products more appealing, particularly to younger consumers. Her work informed draft regulations known as R3337, which seek to limit how so-called junk food is marketed.
After eight years working as a contract researcher, Frank recently stepped into a permanent academic role at UWC, where she now lectures while continuing her research.
Her path into public health was shaped by early clinical experience in hospitals and clinics in the Eastern and Western Cape.
Dr Tamryn Frank is driving policy and research to make healthier food choices more accessible and to curb misleading marketing in South Africa.
Image: Supplied
“After working in hospitals and clinics, I started getting annoyed with my own advice to patients,” she said. “I quickly realised that telling people to ‘eat more fruit and vegetables’ wasn’t enough when they simply couldn’t afford them.”
This realisation pushed her toward research and policy, where she could address broader systemic issues influencing diet and health.
Originally from Malmesbury, Frank began her academic journey in Gqeberha before studying dietetics at Stellenbosch University. Her master’s research, conducted in collaboration with institutions in Norway and Uganda, focused on food insecurity in KwaNojoli in the Eastern Cape.
Her findings highlighted how poverty and limited access to nutritious food often outweigh personal choice. While social support measures such as child grants play an important role, she argues that more comprehensive government intervention is needed.
Frank later completed her PhD at UWC, where she began working with the National Department of Health on front-of-pack food labelling policies.
She said it has been encouraging to see her research influence national policy, despite resistance from powerful food and beverage companies.
Her current work extends to food environments on university campuses, where she is collaborating with researchers from three South African institutions.
Preliminary findings point to a growing tension between promoting student wellness and allowing the marketing of unhealthy products, including sponsorships by soft drink brands and promotions of energy drinks during exam periods.
For Frank, the goal remains clear: to ensure that healthier food choices are not only available, but affordable and easy for all South Africans to make.