Cheap and unhealthy foods are set to become further entrenched in the Australian diet, according to health experts, who warn the federal government is developing a national food policy with heavy influence from profit-driven food and agriculture industries.

Dr Matt Fisher from the University of Adelaide’s Stretton Institute’s health equity department said the policy could “compromise crucial public health considerations”.

On Friday, the government announced the appointment of a National Food Council, which is dominated by representatives from the farming, agriculture and food production industries.

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The council will advise the National Food Security Strategy (Feeding Australia) on identifying food production priorities, creating resilient food supply chains, managing climate-related disruptions and ensuring food is affordable.

But experts said the council must also prioritise access to healthy and nutritious food as critical to food security.

Dr Kim Anastasiou from the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health said many of the industries represented on the council “are major contributors to diet-related environmental impacts and are also associated with significant health harms”.

Improving food security requires increasing the diversity of food being produced, lowering fresh food prices and reducing the influence of ultra-processed food through taxes or marketing restrictions, she said.

These policies “are not aligned with the interests of large food manufacturers and industrial farming sectors”.

A major global report published earlier in November in medical journal the Lancet found Australia has some of the highest consumption rates of ultra-processed foods, which now comprise around half of the average diet. Researchers drew a direct link to Australia’s national food policy falling behind international best practice.

Fisher recently analysed 180 state and federal government food policy documents and interviewed key stakeholders. “Our research indicates high levels of industry involvement in research, development and implementation of Australian food policies,” he said.

This influence means food is seen as “a purely commercial product, with aims and strategies overwhelming geared toward productivity growth, profitability, and export”, which he said “appears to support growth of cheap ultra-processed foods in the food system”.

“The makeup of the National Food Council risks similar problems for the new strategy.”

Nine of the 11 council members are representatives of or otherwise affiliated with agribusinesses or an agrifood peak body, Anastasiou said, making it “very difficult for public-good outcomes to be prioritised over corporate interests”.

Guardian Australia contacted Grain Trade Australia and the Food and Beverage Accelerator, both represented on the council, for comment, but was referred by both to the department of agriculture, which did not respond. Food and beverage manufacturer Bega, and the National Retail Association, both represented on the council, did not respond to requests for comment.

A federal government spokesperson said the membership of the council “reflects the diversity and complexity of Australia’s food system”.

“The government recognises a nutritious diet is a key factor contributing to our overall health and wellbeing,” the spokesperson said.

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But Prof Mark Lawrence from Deakin University said the council reflects a “fairly narrow analysis” of food insecurity. This is despite the discussion paper for Feeding Australia recognising the accepted international definition of food security, which includes “access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food … for an active and healthy life”.

He said the council will “at best, secure up food supply chains – and of course, that’s important”, but it is a “missed opportunity” to address Australia’s problems with food and nutrition security and sustainability.

A research fellow with The George Institute and registered dietician, Daisy Coyle, agreed the Council is “imbalanced”.

Nutrition, equity, affordability and long-term wellbeing “sit outside the expertise of many other sectors on the council”, she said. “Australia risks overlooking core drivers of food insecurity.”

Dr Philip Baker, from the University of Sydney, said rural and remote communities in particular depend on ultra-processed foods, as do households relying on food banks “pumping out ultra-processed foods donated from the major supermarkets”.

A fairer and healthier solution to food security would be to redistribute resources to more diverse local producers, Baker said.

Lawrence said without health-driven policies, “my prediction will be that in 10 years’ time, the ultra-processed food system in this country will be even more entrenched”.

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