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. 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 theUniversity 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.

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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.

“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.

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