FAHRE
- Food and Health Research in Europe -
Analysis of gaps and overlaps for existing
food and health research needs in Europe
Thematic Expert Report
- Oct 2010 -
WORK PACKAGE
LEADS
AUTHOR
WP2. Research needs assessement
Mark Mccarthy (UCL) Lilia Ahrné (SIK)
Bánáti, Diána
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Acknowledgement
This report forms part of the deliverables from a project called "FAHRE" which has received
funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013
under grant agreement n° 244459. The Community is not responsible for any use that might
be made of the content of this publication.
FAHRE aims to investigate how to improve the coordination of food and health research in
Europe. The project runs from January 2010 to December 2011, it involves seven partners and
is coordinated by Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI). More information on the project
can be found at http://www.spi.pt/fahre or by contacting the project manager Rachel Newton
(rachelnewton@spi.pt).
This document has been developed by the partners for recording expert information only. It is
not an official publication from the project.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Foreword: some definitions for ‘food and health research’
‘Food and health research’ for this report refers to research about the production, marketing,
choice, regulation and policy for food as it affects health, and the mechanisms and control of
diet-related diseases, nutrition and obesity. It covers positive and negative impacts of food on
health as well as issues related to under and over consumption of food (undernutrition and
obesity). It draws on a wide range of disciplines including psychological, social, management
and political sciences, laboratory sciences, clinical medicine, environment and epidemiology,
and is undertaken by public, independent and industry organisations.
Programmes for food and health may be structured in different ways. In developing the
'thematic experts' side of FAHRE, we have identified 8 areas for experts, four broad 'fields' of
research, and compared these with three issues in Joint Programming Initiative 'Healthy Food
for a Health Life' Interim Report (March 2010). However, they form a continuum, with
overlaps. They are set out in the table below.
The analysis of the gaps and overlaps for the research fields in each area should consider all
the aspects relevant to supporting research in the area. It should examine how the needs of the
field can be met with regard to research commissioning, major equipment or technical
facilities, available technology tools, and expertise with particular attention to improving the
functioning of the field as a European Research Area. Thus it will analyse organisations
undertaking research or commissioning research, networks, training programmes, databases,
technical facilities and comment on their effectiveness in moving towards the ERA goals, in
particular for greater mobility, joint research infrastructures, knowledge-sharing, Joint
Programming and International Science & Technology Cooperation.
FAHRE Research FAHRE Country Report
thematic areas
Programme research fields
JPI interim report
Food production
and products
Diet and food production:
Establish reliable data on consumer food
preferences and acceptance in order to develop
new food products and to redesign how foods are
produced.
Enable redesign and optimisation of food
processing and packaging.
Foods must always be safe and should be
produced in a sustainable way.
Food safety
Production field: design of food
(components…), its preparation
(processes…), its manufacturing
and also home cooking matters
linked to health and disease,
interface between industry and the
scientific sector.
Regulation, claims,
and food policy for
health
Policy field: regulation (labeling,
salt, sugar and fat contents,
claims…) and consumers, which
will have an impact on diet and
Consumer
therefore on health. It could also
behaviour and what focus on programmes more
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Lifestyle: Consumer behaviour and food choice
understanding of consumer behaviour with regard
to food and also to raise consumer understanding
of healthy foods and food consumption patterns.
Measuring food purchase and consumption
influences it
economically oriented, linked to
marketing, participation, public
expression and access.
behaviour taking into account cultural
differences, and subsequently, developing reliable
models of consumer choice processes.
Effective communication strategies with
consumers need to be developed to induce
behavioural change directed to improving
consumer health and social responsibility.
Population surveys
causes and control
Population field: at human and
Horizontal issues
population level, epidemiologic
approaches (including biological,
Health policy for
social and psychological
food, nutrition, diet determinants) and observational and
and obesity
interventional research on
behaviours that can explain eating
disorders leading to chronic
diseases.
Food causing
disease – excess,
imbalance,
sensitivity
Nutrition microelements,
malnutrition, gene
interactions,
Biomedical field: nutrition and
dietary research relating to
molecular and clinical aspects, in the
pathways and causes of disease, and
the mechanisms at different periods
of the life course.
It could also include food safety,
both toxicology and biological.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Chronic diseases: preventing food-related,
chronic diseases and increasing the quality of life:
1) understanding of brain function in relation to
diet; 2) the effects of diet-gut interaction on
intestinal and immune functions;
3) the link between diet and metabolic function
(obesity and associated metabolic disorders).
Content
Introduction to the Expert´s Area .............................................................................................. 6
1 Research at European level in your area of expertise ............................................................. 7
1.1 Main programmes and projects ...................................................................................... 7
1.2 Infrastructures & equipment ............................................................................................. 7
1.3 Major researcher groups ................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Networks .......................................................................................................................... 7
1.5 Current Training Programmes .......................................................................................... 7
2 Publications & Congresses ..................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Publications ...................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Congresses ....................................................................................................................... 8
3 Comparison of country reports ................................................................................................ 9
3.1 Countries .......................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 9
4 Towards 2020: assessing needs ............................................................................................ 10
4.1 Knowledge needs .......................................................................................................... 10
4.2 Significant research questions ........................................................................................ 10
4.3 Ways to organise research: priorities, developing agendas ............................................ 10
4.4 Interaction between public research and industry ......................................................... 10
5 Gaps and Overlaps for further research ................................................................................. 11
5.1 Structures ....................................................................................................................... 11
5.2 Ways to organise research .............................................................................................. 11
6 Conclusions and Proposals ................................................................................................... 12
6.1 Research fields ............................................................................................................... 12
6.2 Research organisation, structures and infrastructures .................................................... 12
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Introduction to the Expert´s Area
Research on food and health policy and regulation
In Europe, there is public concern about complex issues such as food safety, emerging
communicable diseases and the possible health effects of agents in the environment. For this
reason, the European Union has developed the concept of the European Research Area (ERA)
to improve the coordination of research activities and policies at national and European level,
organise international cooperation and network teams, and increase the mobility of
professionals and ideas. The EU Framework Programmes (FFP) for Research and
Technological Development are the main financial and legal instruments for implementing the
ERA, alongside national efforts and other European cooperative research activities.
The globalisation of the food chain is continually throwing up new challenges and risks to the
health and interests of EU consumers. The central goal of the European Union's food safety
policy is to achieve the highest possible levels of protection for human health and consumers'
interests in relation to food. Thus it seeks to do by ensuring that food is safe and appropriately
labelled - taking into account diversity, including traditional products - while at the same time
ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market. To that end, the EU has developed a
comprehensive body of food safety legislation, which is being continually monitored and
adapted as new developments arise. This legislation is based on risk analysis.
The establishment of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was a key step to support
the work of the EU institutions in protecting EU consumers in this field, providing
independent scientific advice on existing and emerging risks via risk assessment. EFSA has
taken over the responsibility of the scientific committees and is primarily committed to the
task of providing scientific advice through risk assessments and communicating existing and
emerging risks. EFSA has no decision-making powers, but the risk assessments provide risk
managers (EU institutions with political accountability, i.e. European Commission, European
Parliament and Council) with a sound scientific basis for defining policy driven legislative or
regulatory measures required to ensure a high level of consumer protection with regards to
food safety. Risk assessment has traditionally been an area of policy in which national
sentiments are strong. However, EFSA can be seen as a response to the need for increased
excellence, independence and transparency of scientific advice, and to the necessity of
separating scientific advice from regulative activity. The setting up of this new institution at
the European level with more or less exclusive responsibility for performing risk assessments
for EU institutions is thus another factor contributing to food safety policy integration at the
EU level.
Public health priorities and objectives are taken into account in the drawing-up of research
programmes and actions. Scientific support for public health policy is provided in the
conception, development, and implementation and monitoring of actions. Current crosssectoral, multidisciplinary research combines the diverse efforts — for example in
environment and health, nutrition, biomedicine, genomics and biotechnology — to achieve
the overall objective: wellbeing and healthy ageing.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
It can be said that food and health policy is a term much used but rarely explored. The
question is whether over the years the European Union has established programmes, strategies
and projects to ensure the safety of food and other products and protect the health of people.
The expert theme of „regulatory” research and policy-related research is quite difficult to
examine since there is not much actual research in this field. There is a huge gap regarding
research on food & health policy and regulation compared to food & health related basic and
applied research. However, the structures, policies, impacts and benefits of scientific advice
deserve attention and the use of public intruments such as regulation or so-called soft ways –
such as training, capacity-building, financial incentives, networks etc. – should be enhanced.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Research at European level in your area of expertise
 Main programmes and projects
EU 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7) 2007-2013: for research and technological
development coordinated by the DG Reasearch. Its main objective is the construction of the
European Research Area (ERA). The scope of food quality and safety research has been
extended into the wider framework of the creation of a European Knowledge-Based BioEconomy (KBBE). There are ten research themes which include research needed to underpin
the formulation, implementation and assessment of EU policies in the areas of health and
safety. One of the ten research themes of FP7 is:

„Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology” (FAFB) research theme: the main
objective of FAFB and the primary aim of funding the research theme under the FP7 is to
build a European Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) by bringing together science,
industry and other stakeholders to exploit new and emerging research opportunities that
address social, environmental and economic challenges. The theme is built around three
major activities: 1.) Sustainable production and management of biological resources from
land, forest and aquatic environments; 2.) Fork to farm: food (including seafood), health
and well-being; 3.) Life sciences, biotechnology and biochemistry for sustainable nonfood products and processes.
Work Programme 2011 (WP2011): supports the development of a sustainable European
KBBE and offers a convergent and coordinated approach to address the challenges facing
society today as highlighted in Europe 2020 strategy.
Joint Programming Initiatives (JPI): WP2011 includes two topics to support the Joint
Programming initiatives on „Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change” and „A
Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”.
EU Health Project/Strategy 2008-2013 (Second Programme of Community Action): within
the FP7. This follows the first Programme of Community action in the field of public health
(2003-2008) which financed over 300 projects and other actions. The main programme
objectives are to increase healthy life years and promoting healthy ageing, to improve citizens'
health security, to promote health by action on health determinants - such as nutrition,
alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption, as well as social and environmental determinants and
to generate health information and knowledge. The fundamental principles for EC action on
health:
 Principle 1: „A strategy based on shared health values”
 Principle 2: „Health is the greatest wealth”
 Principle 3: „Health in all policies” (HIAP): the intention is for health
concerns to be an integral part of all policies at EU, national and regional
level, including the use of impact assessments and evaluation tools.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
ETP (European Technology Platform) « Food for Life » Strategic Research Agenda
(SRA) 2007-2020. The SRA has been developed by six different Working Groups focusing
on the scientific and technological requirements in Food and Health, Food Quality and
Manufacturing, Food and Consumer, Food Safety, Sustainable Food Production and Food
Chain Management. SRA represents a unique opportunity for the stakeholders in the
European food chain to increase their competitive strength and ensure the continuing wellbeing and welfare of consumers across Europe. The research challenges in six key areas are:
1. Ensuring that the healthy choice is the easy choice for consumers,
2. Delivering a healthier diet,
3. Developing quality food products,
4. Assuring safe foods that consumers can trust,
5. Achieving sustainable food production, and
6. Managing the food chain.
DG SANCO, The Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General of the European
Commission (DG SANCO) is mandated to „ensure food and consumer goods sold in the
European Union (EU) are safe, that the EU's internal market works for the benefit of
consumers and that Europe helps protect and improve its citizens' health.”
The European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium (EPHAC): is an alliance of
health organisations advocating for a healthier, more sustainable Common Agriculture Policy
(CAP).
ILSI Europe, International Life Sciences Institue : is a nonprofit foundation aiming to
advance the understanding of scientific issues relating to nutrition, food safety, toxicology,
risk assessment, and the environment. By bringing together scientists from academia,
government, industry, and the public sector, ILSI seeks a balanced approach to solving
problems of common concern for the well being of the general public. One of the main goals
of ILSI Europe is to play a catalytic role in identifying and addressing critical scientific issues
related to nutrition, food safety and the environment. A typical exammple of research results
provided for policy support is the EU project EURRECA (Network of Excellence)
coordinated by ILSI Europe to serve as basis for a systematic and transparent approach to the
development and review of micronutrient requirements in Europe. This framework can be
used for the decision making of scientific advisory bodies, policy makers and stakeholders
involved in this process of assessing, developing and translating these recommendations into
public health nutrition policy
There are several projects implemented at European level – mainly in the 7th Framework
Programme (FP7) – aiming to counteract for example the obesity pandemic and to improve
health equity, such as „School Fruit Scheme”, „School Milk Scheme”, „EPODE”, „In Form
Project”, „EURO-PREVOB”, „HELENA” and the „IMAGE” projects. Several of these
projects are mentioned in the Country Reports as well (see Chapter 3.) However, projects
that focus particularly on the research of food and health policy and regulation are not
part of the above mentioned programmes and strategies.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Infrastructures & equipment
This topic and expert theme of „Research on food and health policy and regulation” has little
demand for equipment. The subject needs computer-based information systems, particularly
software applications, data collection, technical facilities, collection of surveys and the share
of knowledge.
 Major researcher groups
The main researchers and research groups of this topic are public/governmennt research
institutes, governmental departments and non-govermental organisations (NGOs). There is
still a limited number of research organisations fulfilling the needs of interdisciplinary
research needed to cover research area on F&H policy and regulations.
 Networks
Collaborating and sharing experiences across borders, whether national, regional or
organisational, is an effective way to access new ideas, innovative approaches and new skills.
Even though their constituency is questionable several networks exist in the EU in the
prevention and reduction of diseases such as European Network of Health Promotion
Agencies or the European Food Information Resource Network. However, networks related
to the research of food and health policy and regulation are ought to be built up in the
EU’s network system.
In the context of the Commission's Action Plan to support Transnational Cooperation at EU
level, two calls for proposals were launched in June 2008 and June 2009 to fund networking
that would facilitate and strengthen transnational exchange.
The Network on Transnational Cooperation in ESF builds on the dynamics, tools and learning
from a series of working groups and initiatives, such as EQUAL and the European
Community of Practice on Transnational Cooperation, aimed at facilitating and improving
transnational cooperation.
Transnational cooperation involving national, regional and local authorities aims to promote
better integration within the Union through the formation of large groups of European
regions. Transnational cooperation programmes (Interreg IIIB) encourage a sustainable and
balanced development of the European territory.
 Current Training Programmes
The EU’s Better Training for Safer Food is a European Commision initiative aimed at
organising programmes on different subjects related to the verification of compliance with
food and feed law, animal health and welfare rules and plant health rules. Of these, some are
Research on food & health policy and regulation
carried out in the EU and others in third countries. They are, in particular, aimed at staff of
competent authorities of Member States involved in official controls, and participants from
selected third countries. The training aims to keep control staff in Member States up-to-date
with all aspects of EU law in the area of food safety and animal health, and help to ensure a
uniform understanding of how these rules should be applied and checked. Training is mainly
being organised through the launch of calls for tender for the organisation and implementation
of ad-hoc training projects. Contracts are awarded to bodies which are responsible for the
organisation of the courses.
In the UK there is a so called The Good Food Training project that provides training, but it
also sought to influence policy and training standards, both in London and in the wider public
sector, and to help others learn from the innovative training approach. Good Food Training’s
evaluation team is based at the Centre for Food Policy at City University in London.
In the City University of London there is an MSc Food Policy Programme which has a key
purpose of producing students who have a strong and critical grasp of both the theoretical and
empirical aspects of food policy. They gain in depth knowledge and good understanding of
the breadth of food policy in the United Kingdom within a European and International
context. This Programme is the first in food policy that we know of anywhere. Food policy is
a term much used but rarely explored, which is why this Programme has been set up.
The European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis in
Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) aims at providing a high quality education in designing and
assessing public policies targeted to the agricultural and food sector as well as the rural
environment. This European Master responds to the increasing need to better understand and
anticipate the various and often complex socio-economic and environmental effects of these
policies either in a functioning market economy as in the European Union or in economies in
a development or transition phase. The European Master is jointly organised by five leading
European educational and research institutions: the Corvinius University of Budapest (CUB)
in Hungary, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Sweden, the
Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn (UBonn) in Germany, the Université
catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
in Spain.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Publications & Congresses
 Publications
The number of publications in the last five years that are related to the topic of „Research on
food and health policy and regulation” are limited and extremely low which emphasizes the
need for research in this thematic area.
There are a few good examples of publications beased on the output of EU funded research
projects and Networks of Excellence aiming to influence public health and food policies
either by providing recommendations for threshold values or maximum limits (e.g. Maximum
Residue Limits) or by aiming to harmonise these recommendations based on requirements.
(For example the publication of De Backer G and Haustvast J. European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 2010; 64(Suppl. 2): Towards Harmonisation of Nutrient Recommendations in
Europe: From Nutritional Requirements to Policy Applications. (In this supplement of the
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, results are presented from the EURRECA (EURopean
micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) Network of Excellence funded by the EU 6th
Framework Programme, with the alignment of micronutrient reference values across Europe
as the main objective. The supplement discusses a general framework developed by
EURRECA to serve as basis for a systematic and transparent approach to the development
and review of micronutrient requirements in Europe. This framework can also be used for the
decision making of scientific advisory bodies, policy makers and stakeholders involved in this
process of assessing, developing and translating these recommendations into public health
nutrition policy.))
 Congresses
There are several conferences, seminars and congresses organised in the field of food safety,
food & health and nutrition where policy-related issues are discussed or legislation is
intorduced as such but there are very few scientific meetings held aiming to promote research
on food & health policies.
SAFE consortium 2nd International Congress on Food Safety (27–29 April 2009 in
Girona, Catalunya, Spain): the Consortium organises an International Congress on food
safety sciences once every two years. The SAFE consortium stimulates public debate in
Europe on the scientific aspects of food safety, by making available up-to-date knowledge
from institutes whose scientific integrity is guaranteed by the unlimited right to publish in the
public interest. The SAFE consortium acts as an independent spokesman for food safety
research in Europe and worldwide to the benefit of the public. It deals with „food safety” in
its broadest terms and its mission is to strengthen food safety related research in Europe and
worldwide, a science-based food safety policy setting and regulations, and up-to-date food
safety research policies and programming.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
The Belgian Presidency of the EU has organised a conference entitled « Knowledge Based
Bio-Economy towards 2020 » on the 14th of September 2010 addressing the global societal
challenges and socio-economic drivers and trying to define present achievements and needs
while discussion « Research and Innovations » and « Sustainability and Policies ». There was
an agreement that food and nutrition security expected to be global challenges (beyond
problems related to food security, access and availablity). It was pointed out by the panelists
that consumers create the market of foodstuffs but market conditions are created by relevant
policies. There are great inconsistencies of current policies in the EU for historical reasons
so alongside the reform of the CAP certain decisions have to be made (e.g. highly innovative
bio-based economy creating jobs vs. a bio-based economy with high sustainability standards).
Although the report of the discussion (of parallel sessions) is not yet available but that is
expected to have an influence on the future priorities of the EU Framework Programme being
build on the idea of the « Knowledge-based Bio-economy ».
The Belgian Presidency has recently (21st of Oct 2010) organised an « International Round
Table on the Role of Science in Food Policy” where risk assessment, risk-benefit
assessment, uncertainty in science and new principles of the European food policy, such as
the precautionary principle were discussed amongst others. Report is not yet available.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Comparison of country reports
 Countries
Country
Austria
Institutions
The national context
The Austrian Council
for Research and
Technology
Development
Belgium
Flanders Region:
Flemish Government;
Economy, Science and
Innovation Department
(EWI)
Brussels-Capital
Region
Institute for the
encouragement of
Scientific Research and
Innovation of Brussels
Programmes/projects
The Austrian Council for Research and Technology
Development plays an important role in deciding on
research orientations. The Council aims to advise the
federal government in strategic decisions on
research, technology and innovation policy and
presented its Strategy 2020 in 2009 providing
suggestions and recommendations for a future
development of the Austrian research technology and
innovation system.
Flanders Region
The Economy, Science and Innovation Department
of the Flemish Government (EWI) acts as the
research policy preparation, monitoring and
evaluation body.
Brussels-Capital Region
Research policy is conducted by the agency IRSIBIWOIB (Institute for the encouragement of Scientific
Research and Innovation of Brussels). A regional
innovation plan was launched for the period 20072013 (IRSIB-IWOIB 2006). The strategic axes
include ITC, Health and Environment.
Private organisations
implementing food & There are several European organisations being
active in the field of food and health, based in the
health research
Belgian capital, Brussels.
CIAA is the European Confederation of Food and
European
Confederation of Food Drink Industries, based in Brussels. Its mission is to
and Drink Industries represent the food and drink industries’ interests, at
the level of both European and international
(CIAA)
institutions. Three themes are part of the priorities:
food and consumer policy, competitiveness and
environmental sustainability.
FEVIA is the spokesman of the food industry in
Belgium. The federation, active in environmental,
social, food policy issues, is a privileged interlocutor
for the public authorities and the European
institutions based in Brussels. FEVIA participates in
the debates on trends and strategic decisions
Research on food & health policy and regulation
The national context
regarding food and health issues.
Belgium develops a complex system as the country
The Inter-Ministerial
as it has no single national strategy. Belgium has
Commission on Science five active levels of competences and thus, there are
Policy (IMCSP)
five levels of strategies. The Inter-Ministerial
Commission on Science Policy (IMCSP) organizes
the consultation on research policy between the
Federal Authority, the Communities and the Regions
(agreements, collaboration and exchange of
information).
Bulgaria
Federal Authority: The Federal Authority: The Federal Science Policy
Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) is in charge of the Science Policy
at the federal and the international levels. Research
Office (BELSPO)
programmes are launched by BELSPO, which funds
the research programmes FEDRA. The online
database FEDRA inventories 23 research
programmes for food topics and almost 60 for the
health area.
Federal Public Service
The Federal Public Service (FPS) on Health, Food
(FPS) on Health, Food
Chain Safety and Environment coordinates two
Chain Safety
research programmes for scientific research in terms
of food safety, safety policy and animal welfare.
Ministry of Healthcare
Bulgaria developed a National Food and Nutrition
Action Plan in 2000. The 5-year plan was launched
in 2005 by the Ministry of Healthcare. The plan aims
at improving the health of the Bulgarian population
and reducing the risk of food- and nutrition related
diseases. There are specific nutrition-related national
programmes developed to change health related
problems.
Ministry of Healthcare
& the Ministry of
Agriculture and
Forestry
The Ministry of Healthcare and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry developed the National
strategy for food safety, which was approved in
2001. The strategy included coordination of the
implementation of the national policy on food safety,
and the development of national regulations on
food requirements, the obligations of all food
producers, processors, merchandisers, as well as the
state control of the food chain.
At present, there are no specific research
programmes in the food and health field, so there is a
need for the development and implementation of
special
national
health
and
food-targeted
programmes.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Mapping health and food research in Cyprus is a
challenging task since the lack of a unified policy in
either field. The lack of a National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS) coupled with a scattered system of
health services means that it is difficult to find a
single, unified policy in relation to health.
Cyprus
Changes in the traditional Mediterranean diet
highlight the need for drastic changes at policy
level.
Medical and Health
Services (Ministry of
Health)
Czech
Repub-lic
Ministry of Health
In relation to national policies regarding food, the
Medical and Health Services (under the Ministry of
Health) deals with issues of food hygiene,
regulations concerning food packaging and food
components, prevention and research on infectious
disease and many more. Currently, there is an
established legal framework which deals with issues
of food and health, but not all laws can be translated
in national policy or initiatives.
In the Czech Republic, the orientation of food and
health related research is reflected mainly in the
strategic document entitled “Conception of applied
health research and development 2010-2015” which
defines key research priorities. The policy document
serves as a base for formulation of the Research
Programme of the Ministry of Health III (20102015). Within this programme 4 public calls for
proposals are planned.
The current National Policy of Research
Development and Innovation (2009-2015) sets up 8
priorities for applied research (e.g. “Molecular
biology and biotechnology” and “Biological and
ecological aspects of sustainable production”).
Denmark
Research, Development The Research, Development & Innovation
& Innovation Council
Council is the body responsible for compilation of a
new research, development and innovation policy,
preparation of laws and other legal regulations,
realization of R&D priorities. A joint National
Research, Development and Innovation Policy will
be established for the period after 2010.
The Danish University
There are 4 agencies of which The Danish Agency
Research on food & health policy and regulation
and Property Agency
(DUPA)
Estonia
Finland
for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI)
and The Danish University and Property Agency
(DUPA) are especially involved in research.
DUPA is responsible for educational and
institutional policies. The Agency's tasks comprise
operational, developmental and policy-oriented
activities. A substantial part of these activities
concern issues relating to institutions, staff,
education and buildings, and a current dialogue is
maintained with the universities and their
stakeholders.
Ministry of Economic
The two central organisations in Estonian R&D
Affairs and
policy and financing are the Ministry of Economic
Communications
Affairs and Communications (MKM), and the
(MKM) & Ministry of
Ministry of Education and Research (HTM). They
Education and Research are responsible for nearly all research funding
(HTM)
streams and policies.
Ministries collaborate with the Research and
Development Council, which is an advisory body to
Research and
Development Council
the Government and makes the final expert decisions
on all major R&D policy documents.
(The R&D system has been evaluated repeatedly.
Most of these evaluations cover all fields of research,
there was no specific targeted evaluation of the food
and health research. Most of the available reports
refer to the biotechnology sector and to innovation
related strategies according to the Country Report.)
The National Nutrition The National Nutrition Council is an expert body under
the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and a part of
Council
Evira (Finnish Food Safety Authority).
France
«Programme National
Nutrition Santé »
(PNNS)
Public organisations
implementing food &
health research
In France, the setting up of a nutritional policy has
become a public health priority recently. The role of
nutrition as a risk disease reducer is better
understood. To address the different public health
problems, several programmes have been launched
lately. Among them, the most important is the PNNS
‘Programme National Nutrition Santé’.
INRA
INRA has three scientific boards: 1. Food:
behaviours and physiology, 2. Agriculture and 3.
Environment. A scientific policy called “the division
strategic plan” is designed every 4 years (20062010>2010-2014).
CNA = The French
National Food Council
(Conseil National de
The CNA (Conseil National de l’Alimentation);) is
an independent advisory body that brings together all
the stakeholders in the food production chain (public
Research on food & health policy and regulation
l’Alimentation)
and private), discusses food industry issues and
draws up food policy proposals and initiatives.
Created in 1985, the French National Food Council,
working with the ministries for agriculture, health
and consumer affairs, may be consulted on national
food policy development. The CNA gives opinions
and recommendations on food policy-related issues,
particularly with the interest of adapting
consumption to nutritional needs, consumer food
safety, food quality and consumer information.
INRA, universities,
private actors, public
research centres:
The following research programmes are relevant to
the “policy field”:
ALIA; PNRA;
Germany
The
Max
Rubner
Institut (MRI); The
Federal
Research
Institute of Nutrition
and Food
The Federal Institute of
Risk Assessment (BfR);
(Bundesinstitut für
Risikobewertung)
The ALIA (2009): promotion of chains enrolling in
sustainable development through an aid to decision
combining three key elements of fruit and vegetables
market: environmental sustainability, nutritional quality,
socio-economic aspect.
ALIA (2008): Analysis of life cycle of conventional and
organic chain, and study the environmental impact of a
consumer's average basket of organic food vs.
conventional products. The food culture to the test of
migration. Implications for Food Policy.
PNRA (2005): Nutrition policies, regulation of food
chains and consumption.
PNRA (2006): Construction of a mediating tool dialogic
Citizen Consumers / Actors on sensitive issues in the
meat chains: the contamination as a risk and a benchmark
for understanding.
PNRA (2007): Food and Consumer Nutrition Information
Policy: What respective contributions to the control of
health risk / benefit?
The MRI in its current form was founded in January
2008 with a merger of already existing food research
institutes (some of them with a long-standing history
in F&H research). Scientists elaborate “a scientific
basis for decision making in the field of food,
agriculture, forestry and consumer protection
policy” The organisation is divided into: crossproducts units and production-chain oriented units
plus one common analysis division. Cross-products
units include the Department of Nutritional
Behaviour.
Some F&H research is also conducted within the
Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (Bundesinstitut
für Risikobewertung, BfR), under the roof of the
BMELV. The BfR is the German mirror institution
to EFSA. It is specialised on scientific questions
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Greece
regarding consumer health protection.
Federal Government
The federal government supported health research in
Germany since 1978. One of the most important and
Federal Ministry of
successful national research programmes in the field
Education and Research of F&H research was: “Health Research: Scientific
(BMBF) &
Research for the People” (2002-2009). The Federal
Federal Ministry of
Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Health (BMG)
together with the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG)
took responsibility for the programme. Within this
programme “Health and Research” is characterised
by a comprehensive approach that encompass
research of the causes of disease, health care needs
and structural changes in the research landscape to
better cooperation between industry and science.
That programme, also terminated last year, was
factually prolonged and is still running. Currently a
successor programme of the “Health Research
Programme” is being designed.
The General Secretary
The General Secretary for Research and
for Research and
Technology (GSRT) is the sole component authority
Technology (GSRT)
for the formulation and implementation of RTD
(GSRT is part of the
policy in Greece.
Ministry of Education
So far there is no distinctive agenda on research
& Vocational Training) neither for food & health, nor on food related to
medicine / public health and safety. In fact these
agendas could be part of an overall “food research
agenda” which is currently under discussion.
Hungary
Ministry of Health
Ireland
Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries
& Food (DAFF);
Department of Health
& Children
At the national level the policies / programmes /
initiatives related to the overall R&D action plan for
the period 2007 – 2013 do not include specific action
line neither for food nor for food & health research.
Food nutrition, diet and health are included in the
“Strategic Plan for the Development of R&D and
Innovation under the NSRF 2007- 2013 within the
action line entitled: Agriculture, Fishery, Livestock
Farming, Food and biotechnology.
“Johan Bela” National Programme for the Decade of
Health; National Public Health Programme: to
evolve health impact assessment and to evaluate the
effects on population health of various political
decisions and socio-economic changes.
In Ireland, there are two Government Departments
responsible for developing policies for food and health,
namely the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
and the Department of Health & Children.
In addition, Enterprise Ireland (EI) has an important role
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Enterprise Ireland (EI)
to play in the development of food and health policy.
There is no single national food and health strategy
although it is expected that this will be a major
component of the National Food Research Strategy
currently being developed by DAFF.
Institute for Food &
Health – University
College Dublin
Italy
Ministry of Health
Lithuania
Government of the
Republic of Lithuania
Malta
Director General for
Education
Department of Health
Promotion and Disease
Prevention (Ministry
for Health, Elderly and
Community Care)
The Institute for Food & Health – University College
Dublin has organised a “Policy Seminar Series” for
“Mapping food and health to the public policy
landscape”. The first in Series is entitled “Nutrition and
Health in an Ageing Population”.
Italy has implemented European programs (like
“Gaining Health”, and “Fruit in the School”) to
ensure the implementation of relevant policies in the
food and health area.
The program “Gaining health” promoted by the
Ministry of Health (approved by Decree of the Prime
Ministry in 2007) stems from the need to
disseminate and facilitate the adoption of
behaviours that positively affect the health of the
population, acting on improper eating habits,
physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol abuse,
major risk factors for chronic diseases. "Gaining
Health" is the first project agreed between
government and institutional actors, which aims at
implementing measures for the protection and
promotion of public health.
The State Food and Nutrition Strategy and Action
Plan for 2003–2010: to protect health and to reduce
the prevalence of diseases related to unhealthy
nutrition including the monitoring of nutritional
status, changes in dietary habits and nutrition-related
health problems in Lithuania.
The Healthy Eating Lifestyle Plan (HELP) was
published with the objective of helping schools
formulate a healthy eating policy in early 2007.
A Strategy for the Prevention and Control of
Noncommunicable Diseases in Malta was published
in April 2010. Amongst other topics, this addresses
dietary habits and obesity, and the strategy
established a number of specific targets to be
achieved by 2020. It also lists a number of specific
lines of action towards the achievements of the
targets.
Department of Health
A National Obesity Campaign aimed at raising
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Promotion and Disease
Prevention
Romania
Ministry of Health &
Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural development
(maintained by the
Food and Nutrition
Research Institute)
Ministry of Health
Slovakia
Ministry of Health
Poland
(Government’s
approval)
Government’s approval
awareness about obesity and its adverse effects on
health was launched in May 2010. The campaign
promotes healthy food and healthy food portions, as
well as encouraging individuals to include physical
activity in their daily routine.
Much of the publicly-funded research currently
underway in the food and health sector relates to
surveys and studies on consumption patterns. The
results of these activities feed into the policydevelopment process and also serve as monitoring
tools for assessing the effectiveness of policies
developed on the basis of these studies.
National Programme “Pol-Heath” related to
overweight and obesity is called “National
Programme of prevention overweight and obesity
and chronic non infectious diseases via improvement
of nutrition and physical activity”.
The National Health Program (2007; 2008) was
aiming to evaluate the healthy status of population.
The most important programme related to food and
health in Slovakia is the “National Health Promotion
Programme” based on the WHO policy "Health for
All" included in the policy of "Health 21 - health for
European region for the 21 century”. (This
programme was approved by the Slovak Government
in 2000 and updated in 2005.) Amongst the 11 main
objectives two are related to nutrition issues (1.:
Healthy lifestyle; 3.: Healthy nutrition).
The “State Health Policy”, the “Action Plan for
Environment and Health” and especially the
“Programme for Nutritional Sanitation” aim to
change the population health by influencing its
nutritional habits”. The aim of the “Programme for
Nutritional Sanitation” (approved by the Slovak
Government in 1999 and updated in 2008) is to
enhance the nutritional status and based on that the
health of the inhabitants and prevent different
lifestyle-related diseases.
The Slovak Government adopted a “National
Programme for Obesity Prevention” in 2007
confirming that the health of the citizens is its
priority.
Slovenia
Ministry of Health
There are Recommendations currently being finalized
Research on food & health policy and regulation
which will focus on practical measures in order to
improve the public health emphasis of the CAP policies
and funds applied in Slovenia. This will include national
and regional recommendations on: fruit and vegetable,
wine and diary sectors and on rural development policies.
Spain
Ministry of Health and
Consumption
Spanish Agency for
Food Safety and
Nutrition, AESAN
(Agencia Española de
Seguridad Alimentaria
y Nutrición)
Observatory for
Industrial Technology
Foresight (OPTI)
Ministry of Health and
Social Policy (MHSP)
Genoma España
Foundation (GEF)
Switzerla
nd
Federal
Office
for
Agriculture; FOAG
Agroscope
(Swiss
research stations for
agriculture,
nutrition
and environment).
Federal Office of Public
Health; FOPH
in collaboration with
the Federal Office of
Sports (FOSPO),
Health Promotion
Switzerland, the
cantons
The Ministry of Health and Consumption promoted
through AESAN the Strategy for Nutrition, Physical
Activity, and Obesity Prevention (NAOS), initiated
in 2005. The objective of NAOS is raising awareness
in the population regarding obesity and related health
problems and promoting all initiatives contributing
to a healthy lifestyle, especially in children and
young people mainly through a healthy diet and
regular practise of physical exercise.
There are so-called foresight studies referred to in
the Country Report such as: Nutrigenomic, Food and
Health (carried out by the Observatory for Industrial
Technology Foresight (OPTI); Total Diet Project, a
national
epidemiologic
study
about
food
consumption in Spain (promoted by the MHSP);
Importance of Biotechnology in Spain 2009
(promoted by the GEF); Food, Consumption and
Health.
FOAG’s major programme on food and health is
NutriScope: a research programme of the research
concept 2008 – 2011 of Agroscope. NutriScope =
Healthy, safe and high-quality foods of Swiss origin:
wants to contribute significantly to the promotion of
healthy nutrition and thus to a healthy population in
order to reduce health expenditures related to
nutrition. It aims at optimizing parameters
determining quality, safety and health along the food
chain, from “farm to fork”.
The National Programme on Diet and Physical
Activity 2008-2012 (NPDPA 2008-2012) has been
developed on diet and physical activity. The NPDPA
lays down the national strategy for encouraging
people in Switzerland to eat a balanced diet. It
defines long-term goals and national priorities and
provides a basis for collaboration between various
institutions and organisations.
Federal Office of Public Survey, analysis: Secondary analyses of questions on
nutrition of the Swiss survey on health 2007 for the Swiss
Health (FOPH)
Federal Office of Public Health in order to conclude on
possible consequences for the federal nutrition policy.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Swiss Society for
Nutrition on behalf of the
FOPH
“Healthy Choice Label”: An inventory of labels,
feasibility study how to develop, introduce and manage a
‘healthy choice label’ in Switzerland.
Federal Office of Public “Background on Food Habits”: Consumer behaviour,
decision behaviour, food habits
Health (FOPH)
The results of this study are of great importance particularly as far as obesity is concerned - in the view of
possible consequences for the federal nutrition policy and
planning of interventions related to food and consumer
behaviour.
The Dutch Ministry of
The
Netherlan Health, Welfare and
Sport &
ds
Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food
Quality
The Nutrition Policy, entitled ‘Healthy Nutrition,
from Start to Finish’ was launched in 2008. The
policy document aims to enable consumers to
achieve healthy dietary patterns, where the approach
is twofold: to educate consumers on making healthy
food choices and to encourage the commercial sector
to supply the public with healthier food options.
 Overview
The conclusions and recommendations based on the overview of « Research on food and
health policy and regulation » (including looking towards social and policy sciences to
support public policy) are as follows :
 There were very few projects listed in the Country Reports related to research focusing
on food and health policies and regulation.
 There are countries having no specific strategies and comprehensive national policies for food
and health research. On the other hand there are several countries having food & health
research strategies but these strategies are not always being build on the results of F&H policy
research (at least no evidence is provided for).
 The national plans are either in line with the relevant EU and/or international policies
but there is no proper implementation of these national programmes or they are being
very general in their objectives.
 Policy documents usually serve as a base for the formulation of national research
programmes, define key research priorities on which thematic programmes are based.
Nevertheless research results do not necessarily lead to the development or revision of
such policy documents. So there is a lack of build-in feedback mechanisms.
 There are certain organisations (mainly governmental or public institutions) having an
important role to play in the development of food and health policy. Nevertheless this role is
often stated as a general one. (Sometimes specific programmes based on these goals and
activities are not even mentioned/listed.)
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 In some countries the national health programmes are aiming to evaluate the health
status of a given population but no further information was gained (from the Country
Reports) about the outcome of such evaluations on which national health and food &
health policies could have been build upon.
 There are very few foresight studies and programmes mentioned in the Country
Reports which would serve as a good basis for policy planning. The establishment of
integrated foresight activities to direct policies would enable research to more closely support
and be supported by public health issues.
 There are several national R&D and R&I Programmes having, as one of their main
objectives, knowledge transfer between academia and industry. But knowledge
transfer and policy making between or based on the cooperation of academia and
government or decision makers and scientific organisations in several countries are not
frequent and not regular.
 There is a strong need for cooperation between governmnet-academia-industry in
order to develop the research agenda built on the needs of societies as reflected and
agreed upon in policy documents. There are several European countries in which
cooperation between academia and industry is encouraged in order to raise funds for
research and serve the needs of the industry (mainly SMEs) and enhance the
competitiveness via innovation. Nevertheless the cooperation between government
and academia to monitor the health and nutrition status of given societies and develop
policies is often lacking or being formal.
 The main objective of certain national policies for the promotion of research,
technology and innovation, including food and health, in general has been to enhance
the competitiveness of enterprises and of the national economy in general and not to
promote science of public utility or policy-oriented research based on the surveillance
and monitoring of the health and nutrition status of a given population.
 In those countries having interdisciplinary research promoted the likelihood and
frequency of having policy-related research programmes is higher.

There are few national public health programmes aiming to evolve health impact
assessment and to evaluate the effects of various political decisions and socioeconomic changes on population health. These few programmes are also lacking to
demonstrate the results of such and evaluation and the way these results are
incorporated into policy making activities.
 There are only some of the publicly-funded research projects in the food and health
sector relate to surveys and studies on consumption patterns. Many European
countries lack data on consumption of foodstuffs at population level, although
consumption data is needed for the risk assessment of foods whereas hazard exposure
could be calculated on the basis of the consumption of the given contaminated
foodstuff.
 EU Member States had to set up an inventory of health claims and nutrition claims but there is
a lack of reference to research projects or policy papers in this area (such as the Swiss
inventory of labels and related feasibility study performed to introduce a “healthy choice
label”).
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 In certain countries there is a high level of decentralization. That is giving rise to a
multiplication of technological and industrial policies and inefficiencies in setting up
public policies. For this reason it is necessary to set harmonization mechanisms in
motion between the central or federal government and the autonomous communities
through coordinated R&D and innovation policies.
 Changes in the traditional Mediterranean diet highlight the need for drastic changes at
policy level, in order to achieve a strategic planning which will, in the short-term,
assess and attempt to solve important problems in the areas of food and health
research, while in the long-run, aim at the integration of a policy culture which will be
efficient, effective and contextualized for the local environment.
 There are some further recommendation in order to strengthen and stimulate the food
& health research system in Europe:
o The public health sector should discuss more vigorously the meaning and
societal implications of the Articles 152 and 153 of the Amsterdam Treaty. In
general, there is low awareness among decision-makers and administrators of
its implications to non-health sector policies.
o Methods of evaluating the health impacts of policies before they are introduced
need to be developed and refined. Health impact assessment is one approach,
but there are other approaches, such as regular inter-sectoral health forums that
could be adapted to the specific policy context.
o More funding should be given to stimulate interdisciplinary research into the
health impacts of agricultural and other relevant policies in Europe. Research
findings need to be fed into the policy process and implemented in an effective
way.
o Effective public-private partnerships need to be developed including the public
health sector, consumer groups, agriculture and the food industry where equal
weight is given to public health, environmental concerns, agriculture and rural
interests.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Towards 2020: assessing needs
There is the need to strengthen cooperation and coordination at European, national, regional
and local level, supporting the exchange of evidence-based information and knowledge, and
assisting national decision-making. Long term public-private partnerships are needed. This
section focuses on the knowledge needs, the ways of organising research and the interaction
between public research and industry.
 Knowledge needs
The need to investigate and assess current research projects to see the deficiences of these
projects has become obvious nowadays. Programmes are needed to harmonize European and
national policies in order to progress the thematic area of „Research on food and health policy
and regulation”. Policies and regulations should all be scientific evidence-based. Although
maximum levels and thresholds set up are mostly science-based the issue of e.g. obesity
which contibutes to diet-related diseases (for example diabetes and cardiovascular diseases)
effects the health of the whole of society and therefore needs social and regional handling.
Long-term strategies are needed for prevention.
The need for sharing knowledge between research institutions and industry has also become
increasingly evident in recent years. Historically, research institutions were perceived as a
source of new ideas and industry offered a natural route to maximising the use of these ideas.
However, the past decade has seen a significant change in the roles of both parties. Many
companies are developing open innovation approaches to R&D, combining in-house and
external resources, and aiming to maximize economic value from their intellectual property,
even when it is not directly linked to their core business. In particular, they have begun to
treat public research as a strategic resource. In parallel, it has become clear that research
institutions need to play a more active role in their relationship with industry in order to
maximize the use of the research results.
The development of collaborative research is one of the most important knowledge transfer
and innovation processes. The Competitiveness and Innovation Programme supports all forms
of innovation, public-private partnerships and measures to improve access to finance. It funds
novel ways to facilitate knowledge sharing between research institutions and companies, in
particular for SMEs.
One of the goals of The European Institute of Technology (EIT) is to promote research
institutions - industry interactions and knowledge transfers. It focuses on the development and
integration of all aspects of the knowledge triangle – innovation, research and education – in
areas that present challenges for Europe’s future. It changes and accelerates the processes of
knowledge transfer in existing institutions, as well as increase their links with industry.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
By sharing information and experiences more effective, meaningful guidelines or regulations
can be developed.
 Significant research questions
How will regulatory bodies deal with the likely continuing increase in products which have
health claims? The evaluation of health claims pointed out the poor quality of information and
gaps in evidence for the rejection of many of the generic health claims. Could health claims
be scientifically substantiated based on the evidence provided by ongoing research ?
Information gaps refer to the :
 inability ot identify the specific substance on which the claim is based, such as claims
on dietary fibre without specifying the particular fibre,
 lack of evidence that the claimed effect is indeed beneficial to the maintenance or
improvement of body functions, such as claims on renal « water elimmination »,
 lack of precision regarding the health claim made, such as claims referring to terms
like « energy » and « vitality », and
 lack of human studies with reliable measures of the claimed benefit.
Could regulation help people eat more healthy (consumer behaviour) rather than increasing
the production of « enhanced/ enriched » foods ? There is already sufficient « healthy » food
available, the issues are of balance and quantity.
Is knowledge being effectively transferred between the public and the private sector?
 Ways to organise research: priorities, developing agendas
The organisation of the research on food policy and health regulation includes considering
networking, collaborative programmes, knowledge-sharing, setting priorities, developing
agendas, international co-operation and the availability of joint infrastructures such as
international databases, GRIDs, technical facilities and surveys.
 Interaction between public research and industry
European universities and other research institutions have realised their changing role in the
globalized economy and have undertaken interesting initiatives. They have realised that they
are no longer simply providing the local area with graduates but that they find themselves
competing on a global scale for students, researchers and industrial partners. In turn, they
realise that they will have to provide world class research to attract students and researchers in
the future. In order to remain attractive, there is the need to open up to business and
international collaboration, which may also help make use of new funds.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
The interactions between the public research base and industry have been gradually increasing
over the past decade. These can vary from contractual research to collaborative research or
even to structured partnerships. Most of these interactions involve the transfer of knowledge
between the stakeholders concerned, and enhance the socio-economic impact of publiclyfunded research, e.g. by creating new useful products, new jobs and sometimes new
companies.
Sharing knowledge in particular through R&D collaborations with business – while a
potential source of income for research institutions (financial benefit for research)– may well
give an important boost to both quantity and quality of the research undertaken.
Benefits to research institutions resulting from knowledge transfer to industry are not
primarily financial. The main benefits are indirect and should be considered in the longer
term. The successful implementation of policies to deal with inventions and collaborations
with industry can lead to a number of benefits for society at large and, in particular, the local
economy. These benefits include new jobs, new products on the market and better education.
Benefits to researchers also include for instance:
 the development of mutual trust between the research institution and industry, beneficial to the establishment of long-term strategic partnerships (as opposed to one-off
contracts);
 the enhancement of research institutions research activities (access to state of the art
industrial equipment, improving research institution project management skills,
complementing the research institution competence base by new skills and techniques
developed in industry, improved understanding of market needs and of industry
problems) or
 the enhancement of research institutions teaching activities (involvement of industrybased lecturers, enrichment of teaching contents and materials with practical
examples, learning how to apply skills and knowledge to solve real business problems)
Industry stand to gain indirectly as they will be given fresh opportunities to commercialise the
most up-to-date and relevant research findings, with the aim of giving Europe first-mover
advantage in the latest technological and non-technological fields and in open innovation.
Most FP projects involve a mix of participants from the public and private sectors, from
several countries. Certain thematic areas, such as the ICT sector, have been particularly
successful in this respect: more than 90% of projects involve research institutions - industry
collaboration.
An open dialogue between science and policy is vital in our age. Policy decisions may have
ideology at their heart, but they must be informed by objective, verifiable and repeatable
research. Policy must be informed by research, policy decisions need input from what
research tells us about the world – research which is of the highest quality, relevance and
validity. Research universities and independent research institutes are vital source for
unbiased, comprehensive and respected policy research. If politicians and those that serve
them are to make the right choices and capitalise on society’s investment in research, they
Research on food & health policy and regulation
must have effective access to the best relevant scientific understanding and awareness of
emerging science issues.
There is also the duty of both science and policymaker to engage the public and to show that
policy is underpinned by objective research. There is a responsibility on the part of
researchers to foster a dialogue about science, to ensure their findings are properly interpreted,
and not used inappropriately.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Gaps and Overlaps for further research
Besides of having the need of development, implementation and evaluation of EU healthrelated policies and actions and there is the need to research food and health policy to
empower European citizens in health for life. The following points reflect some of the needs
for future research:
 There is a need to strengthen cooperation and coordination at European, national,
regional and local level.
 Environmental and health policies need to work in tandem to achieve a high level of
health protection.
 Establishment of long-term cooperation between researchers, policymakers, and other
stakeholders in the field of environment and health research and assessment.
 Long-term public private partnerships are needed.
 Supporting “informed decision-making” for regulation and providing information to
regulatory bodies, industries and consumer associations.
The area of research in health, food and diet-related diseases is both complex and fragmented.
We have to overcome the real or hypothetical boundaries among the multitude of entities and
international organisations dealing with food RTD. RTD results need to be integrated in a
comprehensive way, allowing their open and shared utilization by the entire scientific
community.
Research in Europe needs to be better coordinated to prevent duplication. Focus, alignment
and collaboration both transnationally and internationally need to be improved.
Changes in both population demographics and life span demand that European public health
policies focus on healthy ageing. At the same time, there are a number of pressing challenges
on a European-scale that can only be tackled through a combination of public policy
development, academic research and industry developments. All this needs to be better
integrated and streamlined in Europe.
Prevention of chronic diseases through promoting collaborative research and sharing data and
results on health impacts of nutrition and lifestyle is needed in Europe. The creation of a
coherent long term, public health research programme on diet related diseases from molecular
to population levels by integrating systems including biology, genetics, nutrition,
epidemiology and social sciences is an important area to invest in.
In the food sector, health and environmental impacts are uncertain and social impacts are
completely unknown. Data related to the agro-food sector such as health, use of resources,
social, economic, environmental and policy related issues are still managed in separate blocks.
Multidisciplinary approaches need to be encouraged.
A holistic view on policy development is crucial.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Structures
 Development of methodologies, databases and models for the research on food and
health policy.
 Survey implementation, data analysis and dissemination, leading to the provision of
advice and recommendations to policy makers across Europe and amongst OECD
members.
 Development of survey instruments.
 To facilitate the dissemination of knowledge to those who could most benefit.
 Improving human resources through training and knowledge-sharing.
 Research funding should contribute to the evidence base for health improving policies.
 In policy, research needs to be expressed correctly. It must be framed to have
maximum impact on the policy world: presenting clear and relevant policy options in a
lively way that strikes a chord with both decision makers and the public while not
ignoring the complexities and uncertainties that characterise the real world of research.
 Dissemination of results amongst stakeholders across Europe, and using the results to
make policy recommendations at the regional level.
5.2 Ways to organise research
 To develop constructive training strategies appropriate to the specific needs of
different countries.
 Data collection must be done in a compatible way in order to create comparative data
and uncover inequalities on the regional, national and inter-country level (reduce
health inequalities between and within Member States).
 Support the exchange of evidence-based information and knowledge.
 There should be more public-health research to understand how policies and practice
at local and national levels affect health determinants. To achieve this, there must be
investment in social as well as technological sciences and in university infrastructures
as well as research institutes.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
 Conclusions and Proposals
One basic objective of food policies is the promotion and protection of public health. Over
time, the public health objectives have been put more clearly at the centre of both national and
international food policy agendas. Researchers should provide policy makers with specific
recommendations for food and health policy. The priority for policy makers is research on
effective interventions and policies to reduce the health gap, including critical success factors
and economic assessments.
The topic of research on food and health policy is still rather vague even though it should be
considered to be addressed in the need to better understand where we are at and what should
be done regarding food and health policy and regulation.
Public health and food policy need long term planning. Long term strategies are required for
the health protection of consumers. To set up strategies problems and weaknesses need to be
looked at in order to improve general public health, improve the quality of life of the
increasing number of people with extended age and to increase the competitiveness of the
Member States.
National public health programmes and/or food & health research programmes aiming to
evolve health impact assessment and evaluating the effects of various political decisions and
socio-economic changes on population health should be promoted.
Policy documents need to be regularly revised on the basis of research results and results of
surveillance and monitoring programmes in order to be able to define key research priorities.
Foresight activities ought to be encouraged in order to serve policy building and decision
making activities. The establishment of integrated foresight activities to direct policies would
enable research to more closely support and be supported by public health issues.
Knowledge transfer and policy making between or based on the cooperation of academia and
government or decision makers and scientific organisations in several countries should be
more frequent and regular. The cooperation between government and academia to monitor the
health and nutrition status of given societies and develop policies is often lacking or being
formal. There is a strong need for cooperation between governmnet-academia-industry in
order to develop the research agenda built on the needs of societies as reflected and agreed
upon in policy documents.
In order to strengthen and stimulate the food & health research system in Europe the public
health sector should discuss more vigorously the meaning and societal implications of the
Articles 152 and 153 of the Amsterdam Treaty. In general, there is low awareness among
decision-makers and administrators of its implications to non-health sector policies.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Methods of evaluating the health impacts of policies before they are introduced need to be
developed and refined. Besides health impact assessment other approaches (e.g. regular intersectoral health forums, networks etc.) could be adapted to the specific policy context.
Effective public-private partnerships need to be developed (including the public health sector
with various stakeholders, including consumer groups, agriculture producers, food processors,
the food industry) where equal weight is given to public health, environmental concerns,
agriculture and rural interests.
More funding should be given to stimulate interdisciplinary research into the health impacts
of agricultural and other relevant policies in Europe. Research findings need to be fed into the
policy process and implemented in an effective way.
 Research fields
Prevention of chronic diseases through promoting collaborative research and sharing data and
results on health impacts of nutrition and lifestyle is needed in Europe. The creation of a
coherent long term, public health research programme on diet related diseases from molecular
to population levels by integrating systems including biology, genetics, nutrition,
epidemiology and social sciences is an important area to invest in.
As far as there are limited publicly-funded research projects in the food and health sector
relate to surveys and studies on consumption patterns. Many European countries lack data on
consumption of foodstuffs at population level, although consumption data is needed for the
risk assessment of foods whereas hazard exposure could be calculated on the basis of the
consumption of the given contaminated foodstuff.
One of the most important public health challenges Europe faces today relates to noncommunicable diseases. With the growing burden of chronic, lifestyle-related diseases, it is
important that consumers understand the relationship between diet and health. A central part
of food and nutrition policies is ensuring that consumers are provided with science-based
information on the relationship between diet and health. So the scientific substantiation of
health claims remain to be fulfilled.
 Research organisation, structures and infrastructures
There should be more public-health research to understand how policies and practice at local
and national levels affect health determinants. To achieve this, there must be investment in
social as well as technological sciences and in university infrastructures as well as research
institutes.
Research on food & health policy and regulation
Changes in both population demographics, lifestyle and nutrition habits demand that
European public health policies focus on healthy ageing. There are a number of pressing
challenges on a European-scale that can only be tackled through a combination of public
policy development, academic research and industry developments. All this needs to be better
integrated and streamlined in Europe.
Research on food & health policy and regulation