Log in
Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBH) at Surrey has conducted a number of studies on how people make use of, and understand the labels on food products. These studies have been used by UK and EU regulators in forming labelling policies and constructing food information regulations.
The work at Surrey and collaborative work with European colleagues has examined a range of domains relevant to food governance for health and impacted specifically on front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling and allergen labelling policy development.
A 14 month research project funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has informed national policy on allergens and food labelling, EU negotiations by DEFRA on Food Information Regulation and Food Standards Agency advice to industry. The project involved the development of a novel method for eliciting consumer views about food labels, the details of which have been communicated by the FSA to relevant government departments. The results of the project have been presented to FSA, at industry events, within academia and allergy charities, while references to the project have been widely circulated on social media and appear on policy and industry websites.
Research by Jackson and the CONANX group (Consumer anxieties about food) at Sheffield has enhanced understanding of recent changes in UK food and farming, including the globalization of supply chains, technological innovation and retail concentration all of which have led to increased consumer anxieties about food safety and security. The research has influenced commercial practice for a leading UK food retailer; enhanced public understanding and encouraged more healthy eating (via museum exhibitions, an educational website and changes to school curricula); and helped shape public policy (through Jackson's work with DEFRA and the Food Standards Agency).
The Centre for Food Policy (CFP) at City University London uses applied research to develop `public interest' approaches to understanding the relations between food systems and consumers. A key focus is the tension between `food citizenship' and consumerism. Our research has long asked how food policy-makers can address and improve citizenship interests when faced with both `old' social divisions (inequalities, poverty, poor market access) and `new' pressures (energy-water-biodiversity footprints, environmental knowledge deficits, de- and re-skilling). Our impact has been in promoting policies to reshape the conditions for good, low impact consumption through: (a) generating high-level debate about sustainable diets (what to eat) at population and individual levels; (b) identifying and mapping the cultural and spatial realities that shape consumer choices; and (c) foregrounding the challenge of health literacy. CFP proposals have gained traction in food policy locally, regionally and internationally (including Europe, the USA and Australia), helped by our long and close relations with civil society organisations (including the United Nations) and with growing impact on government and companies, including the major supermarkets.
Building on a background in nutritional science, Professor Dowler's research on social and policy aspects of food, nutrition and household food security has created impact at local, national and international levels. Her membership of key national expert advisory panels and councils, both official and voluntary, has allowed the research to inform policy-making as well as print and broadcast media debates on many issues, notably the consequences of low wages and benefit cuts on the diet of low-income households; the role played by food banks in relieving food poverty and the benefits of local food networks in securing community-level food resilience.
This case study is concerned with the impact of our research on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry in Wales. Specifically, the preliminary impact is about the development of a Knowledge, Innovation and Technology Exchange (KITE) programme. Set up in 2008, it was based on £3.9 million initial investment from the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Through sustained knowledge exchange via the KITE programme with 31 food manufacturing businesses in Wales there have been two main types of direct impact with benefits to end-users. First, there have been improvements to food production and food safety management systems in many of those businesses. Second, there has been increased economic prosperity, by March 2013 resulting in £27 million of increased sales, £540k of waste reduction within processing, and the creation and safeguarding of 1,072 jobs.
[Throughout this Impact Case Study, references to the underpinning research are numbered 1 to 6; sources to corroborate the impact are numbered 7 to 16.]
Food safety and quality management developments have resulted from a combination of major food incidents, government regulations and industry initiatives. This has led to the development of private standards that have become quasi-regulatory on industry. The body of evidence aggregated from the RAU's research and consultancy activities has provided a unique global perspective on food safety regulation and management. Governments, NGOs and industry have used this evidence to further national and global strategies for food safety management including primary production. Current research is now centering on two key areas: strategic management of risks in primary production and public: private partnerships supporting agriculture.
Bangor research has significantly affected vegetable sourcing and distribution policies and practice of major fresh producers and UK supermarkets. Using a novel carbon footprinting model that incorporates all components of the production chain, the research demonstrated that footprints of vegetables vary with season, origin, production processes, transport and storage. The application of this model by industry partners has resulted in measures by food producers, suppliers and supermarkets to reduce carbon footprints, providing direct economic and environmental benefits through both waste reduction and technology implementation. Furthermore, the findings have impacted on sustainability policy development by the World Bank, international NGOs and Welsh Government, and influenced consumer awareness and debate on the environmental impact of food.
Research at Kingston University into global food safety, led by Professors Naughton and Petroczi, established new methods of using large databases to identify risks in the food chain and inform regulatory action.
Through Professor Naughton's chairmanship of the EFSA External Review Working Group, this research contributed to improvements in the practices and procedures of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the main body providing scientific advice to the European Union on risks in the food chain. This led to a reduction of around 75% in the number of erroneous outputs generated by EFSA, with consequent benefits to food safety across the EU.
The focus of this statement is upon research funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation during 2009-2011 into how food tourism can be used for sustainable development. We understand this to be the first externally funded research project on this subject. Food tourism strategies and associated sustainable development policies informed by the research include the Causeway Coast and Glens of North Ulster; the Brecon Beacons National Park; and Fáilte Ireland are using the research results in their strategy development. The impacts of food tourism in rural areas related to sustainable development include: the strengthening of economic linkages and multiplier effects within regional and local economies; encouraging cultural identity and distinctiveness; and the reduction of environmental pollution from food transportation.