Reduction of disease risk claims on food and drinks (REDICLAIM)
Summary
The University of Surrey is co-ordinating REDICLAIM (REduction of DIsease risk CLAIMs on food and drinks), a collaboration with researchers at the Slovenian Nutrition Institute (NUTRIS), Aarhus University (Denmark) and the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).
REDICLAIM seeks to understand the way in which the European Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods and associated legislation has had and continues to have an impact on the substantiation and use of “reduction of disease risk” claims on food and drinks.
To achieve this REDICLAIM will:
- Seek to understand the (a) main issues and hurdles concerning substantiation and use of “reduction of disease risk” claims on food and drinks; (b) level of awareness about legal obligations with regard to “reduction of disease risk” claims on food and drinks among the relevant stakeholders; and
- Produce a three-fold study of the impact of nutrition and health claims legislation specific to “reduction of disease risk” claims on food and drinks on: (a) The claim substantiation process, (b) Health research and/or innovation in the food chain, and (c) Nutrition economic models to determine health impact.
REDICLAIM results will contribute to:
- the development of an evidence base of the process by which health and nutrition claims are made and controlled by regulatory frameworks;
- the effectiveness of their control by regulation;
- the establishment of recommendations for government, industry and the scientific community with a view to conducting the necessary research and development of such products.
The aim of this will be to achieve both effective compliance with better regulation and, to contribute to the enhancement of innovative and competitive products.
Funder
EU FP7
Team
Contacts
Professor Monique Raats
Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability; Professor; Director of the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre; School of Psychology Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead
Biography
I am a founding Co-Director of the University's Institute for Sustainability, and director of the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health (FCBH) Research Centre. Together with the university’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, FCBH was awarded the prestigious 2017/2018 Queen’s Anniversary Prize. FCBH research domains include:
- food-related behaviour and policy interventions to achieve sustainable and healthy lifestyles;
- social, policy and ethical issues relevant to the grand societal challenges such as sustainability and obesity;
- study of food systems from the perspective of significant actors and stakeholders within the system; and
- methodologically advancing food consumer science through exploring novel data sources and methods of data linking.
I previously worked at the Institute of Food Research (now Quadram Institute), Health Education Authority and University of Oxford. My expertise is in the area of public health and behavioural nutrition research, gained on a variety of projects. My research is wide ranging both in terms of topics covered (e.g. food choice, policy development, food safety) and methodologies used (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, stakeholder consultation). I have also been involved in the evaluation of health promotion programmes and developing tools for use in nutrition education. To date I have published over 145 refereed papers, numerous non-refereed publications including 20 book chapters 20 book chapters and have edited two books ("The Psychology of Food Choice" (2006) and "Food for the Ag(e)ing Population" (1st edition 2009; 2nd edition 2016).
From 2011 until June 2018 I was a member of UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and also a member of the Subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition (SMCN) from 2012 until June 2018.
I am one of the founding members, member of the Board of Directors (2001-2006) and was secretary (2004-2006) of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The society was set up to combine interests in diet and physical activity; and to stimulate, promote and advocate innovative research and policy in the area. The society now plays an important role in fostering excellence in research in this field through its annual meetings and journal called the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Dr Charo Hodgkins
Senior Lecturer & Director of Innovation for School of Psychology; Institute for Sustainability Fellow
Biography
I started my career with GSK as a development chemist and then moved to Superdrug Stores PLC as Head of Technical Services. During my 14 years in industry, I gained extensive experience of managing technical and research projects within both branded and retail environments. In 2003, I joined the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBH) in the School of Psychology at Surrey, a multidisciplinary research centre which brings together skills and expertise in order to address research questions on food related policy, consumer behaviour, public health and ultimately food sustainability. I have played an instrumental role in the success of the Research Centre, working on a wide range of collaborative, multidisciplinary UK and EU funded research projects. I am also Director of Innovation for the School of Psychology, employing my expertise to support academics in the School of Psychology and the wider university to develop pathways to impact thus ensuring our research delivers societal benefit. More recently I became a Fellow of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability within which I collaborate on four key research areas; Governance, Equality & Sustainability, Sustainability through Behaviour Change, AI & Sustainability and Plastics in the Circular Economy. I am also an elected academic representative for FHMS on Senate and Council.
Researchers
Dr Bernadette Egan
Senior Research Fellow/Deputy Chair University of Surrey Ethics Committee
See profile
Professor Heather Gage
Professor of Health Economics
Biography
Heather Gage graduated with a BA (Hons) Economics and an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning Studies from the University of Reading. Subsequently, she gained a PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Surrey and became Professor of Health Economics in 2012. As Director of Surrey Health Economics Centre, Heather oversees a varied portfolio of applied health and social care projects. She has held visiting positions at the Boston University School of Public Health and the Centre for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research of the US Veterans Healthcare Administration.
Professor Rosalind Malcolm
Professor of Law, Director of Environmental Regulatory Research Group (ERRG)
Biography
I am an environmental lawyer and I specialise in looking at the ways law can be used to protect the environment. Recently I have been working on the 'wicked problem' of the polluting waste from plastics and how a circular economy might help to stop the problem of waste. So I look at laws around the ecodesign of products and how they can be implemented to stop the production of waste and pollution. I look at the whole governance frameworks for environmental law including not just the legislation but policy, implementation, enforcement and compliance as well as the impact of property rights. I have been working on the rights to water and sanitation and how they can be used to ensure a decent standard of living for people especially in developing countries. I believe that we will not solve the problem of the degradation of the earth unless we work across disciplines seeking solutions together so I specialise in multidisciplinary research working with social and natural scientists and engineers.
I am the Director of the Environmental Regulatory Research Group (http://www.surrey.ac.uk/errg/) which is a research grouping of individuals and organisations engaged in research, teaching and consultancy into environmental regulation, compliance and enforcement and is part of the Surrey Centre for International and Environmental Law.
I am an associate member of the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey and I also practice as a barrister from Guildford Chambers.
Professor Richard Shepherd
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Biography
Richard Shepherd is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology, having retired in August 2011. He obtained degrees in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and in Psychology from Cardiff and Southampton. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey and then worked at the Institute of Food Research from 1982 to 1998, initially in Norwich and then in Reading, before joining the University of Surrey as a Reader.
He has carried out research on a range of issues related to the factors influencing food choice. In particular this has involved the development and application of social cognition models to food choice issues and the exploration of the factors influencing dietary change. He has also conducted research on the perception of risk and risk communication particularly in relation to food issues. He has published widely in all of these areas of research, including editing two books.
He has directed research funded by BBSRC, ESRC, MAFF, FSA, Wellcome Trust and industry, in addition to several collaborative European projects funded by the EU. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. In the past Richard has been a member of the UK Food Standards Agency Social Science Research Committee, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Social Science Expert Advisory Group and the ESRC Grant Assessment Panel.
Dr Lada Timotijevic
Associate Professor; Head of Department of Psychological Sciences; Deputy Director of the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre
Biography
Having completed my PhD in 2000 (University of Surrey) in the area of identity processes in the context of social and cross-cultural mobility, I have subsequently worked within the advertising industry (J. Walter Thompson).
I joined the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre (FCBH) at the University of Surrey (Department of Psychology) in 2002, a multidisciplinary research centre which brings together skills and expertise from across the University in order to address research questions on food related policy, consumer behaviour and public health. Since my arrival, I have played an instrumental role in the success of the Research Centre, working on research projects of substantive theoretical and applied relevance.
I work within the critical public health framework and my empirically-oriented work has focused on understanding the role and nature of public and stakeholder engagement and dialogue in policy and science, risk perception and governance, and science-policy interaction. Policy relevance is a key theme across my research projects, and my work is aimed at both understanding the processes of policy making, and contributing evidence on which to base policies. I am particularly interested in public health nutrition, sustainable diets and illness prevention.
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