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The University of Nottingham (UoN) has developed two novel food-allowed additives based upon xanthan gum. The generation of these structurally modified forms allow xanthan to be used more efficiently in food manufacturing applications and provide nutritional and health benefits. The invention of the new xanthans benefits the global food industry by facilitating new product development and formulation.
Researchers at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC, University of Glasgow) were the first to develop methods and equipment for screening foodstuffs for irradiation. Their work led to new UK and European standards (BS EN 1788 and BS EN 13751) which provide protection and reassurance to consumers. Professor David Sanderson's laboratory is recognised as the world-leader in the detection of food irradiation. The laboratory is also the only establishment to develop, design and sell photostimulated luminescence (PSL) systems to detect irradiated food. Since 2008 134 laboratories worldwide have taken up these UK-manufactured PSL systems to prevent irradiated ingredients from entering the food manufacturing chain.
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.
One solution proposed to contribute to the resolution of the current UK obesity crisis has been to provide clear, visible and easily understood nutritional information to help consumers make informed decisions when purchasing food. Newcastle research provided two insights: first that consumers found it hard to interpret multiple versions of nutritional labels, and secondly that the label with the highest overall comprehension included traffic light colouring, Guideline Daily Amounts and the words "low", "med" and "high" to aid decision making. This information was used by the Department of Health in their approval of a new, consistent food labelling in June 2013. This system has now been adopted by major manufacturers including MARS, Nestlé UK, PepsiCo UK and Premier Foods, and retailers including Sainsbury's, Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons, The Co-operative Food and Waitrose.
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.
Prebiotics are dietary ingredients selectively fermented by populations of gut bacteria seen as beneficial to health. Following the development of the concept of prebiotics by Professors Glenn Gibson and Marcel Roberfroid, research at the University of Reading has developed, pilot- manufactured and tested in humans, a novel prebiotic that shows greater selectivity for beneficial gut bacteria. The prebiotic has been commercialised through formation of a new Small Medium Enterprise (SME) company, Clasado. A range of functional food product formulations of the prebiotic is available over the counter at a variety of supermarket and high street outlets in the UK, as well as products containing it as a branded ingredient in North America. Research on Bimuno conducted at Reading has therefore had impact on human health through alleviation, or attenuation, of symptoms of common gut disorders and on the economy through the formation of a new SME company.
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.]
Professor William Stimson has led research into rapid diagnostic tests for the food industry from 1996 to the present day. These tests reduce the time for microbiological testing of food pathogens from 2-5 days to within a working day. The new technology is fully automated, uses less material and involves fewer manipulations than previously available kits, leading to a reduction in cost and time. A spin out company, Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., has attracted €1.36M EUROSTARS funding for further Research & Development, and has created 24 jobs. Sales of testing kits produced revenue of £3.4 million by year end 2012, and have increased since this date.
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.
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.