A study by a British university of 25 top companies found that their response to World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations on combating obesity, cancer and heart disease was "worrying".
Salt, sugar, fats, transfats and portion size were identfied as problem areas.
Only four of the companies investigated were taking action to reduce fat while only five were working to reduce sugar levels, the report found.
Ten were working to lower salt levels, two were acting to reduce portion sizes while eight of the 25 were taking action to reduce unhealthy transfats.
The WHO launched a global strategy on diet, physical activity and health in May 2004, setting out what companies could do to tackle the diet crisis.
Researchers at London's City University set out to discover what the companies were doing to address that agenda.
They focused on the world's top 10 food manufacturers, the top 10 food retailers and the top five food service companies, made up of the top three fast food chains and top two contract caterers.
Overall picture poor
"Our findings are worrying. There is a pretty poor overall picture, with too many companies appearing not to care a jot," said City University’s Professor Tim Lang.
"The smallest company we investigated had a turnover five times that of the WHO's entire annual budget, so they cannot use lack of resources as an excuse.
The findings of this report suggest that the world's food companies are not yet fully engaged with the seriousness and urgency of the demands to tackle diet-related ill-health worldwide."
Kraft was the only company found to be acting on all five main issues while PepsiCo was acting on the first four.
City said six out of 10 manufacturers, four food service companies and one retailer had a policy commitment to healthier product ranges.
Though 17 of the companies made statements about health, only six had a board member responsible for health, researchers found.
Retailers came out as the worst performing sector, while food manufacturers, often the sector facing criticism, reported the most activity.
A spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation, which represents British firms, said companies had pledged in the FDF's manifesto to reduce salt, sugar and fat in foods and promote healthy lifestyles.
"If the report's authors want the food and drink manufacturing industry to take more action on food and health, they are pushing at an open door," he said.