Why trust us?

The British Nutrition Foundation was established as a charity in 1967, has strong governance and connectivity with a wide range of groups, and is an evidence-based nutrition science organisation.  

Our vision is 'Everyone can access healthy, sustainable diets' and we work towards this through our Mission of ’translating evidence-based nutrition science in engaging and actionable ways’. In all aspects of our work, we aim to communicate clear, accurate and accessible information on nutrition, diet and lifestyle, which is impartial and relevant to the needs of many audiences.

Put simply, we connect people, food and science, for better nutrition and healthier lives.

Our work is guided by our values which form the backbone of all that we do:

• Integrity – we are science-led, impartial, open minded, transparent and committed to diversity and sound ethical principles. 
• Collaboration – we amplify our impact via partnership working with a range of stakeholders.
• Quality – we deliver excellence consistently.
• Positivity – we are a team of highly qualified experts who care about providing credible nutrition science and are passionate about the positive influence it can have on healthier lives.

For all our work we have a series of internal sign-off procedures to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and up-to-date, and we encourage feedback from our users. In addition, our key publications are peer reviewed by technical committees and external experts drawn from the nutrition science, education and food chain communities. We hold roundtables with experts to review the evidence, as well as convene steering groups and working parties to help shape our work.

A core strength of the British Nutrition Foundation is the way in which it is governed. We have a Board of Trustees, Advisory Committee, Scientific Committee, Editorial Advisory Group, Education Working Groups and a Nominations Committee, on which serve many senior/experienced individuals from different walks of life. The composition of these groups is deliberately weighted towards the scientific ‘academic’ community, based in universities and research institutes, and those from education, finance, media, communications and HR backgrounds. With the exception of travel expenses, no remuneration is paid to anyone servicing on these committees.  The British Nutrition Foundation is also a founder member of the Academy of Nutrition Sciences, established as a charity in 2019.

We do not lobby, endorse any products, engage in food advertising campaigns or allow commercial or political pressure to influence us when publishing or disseminating information. Our governance arrangements ensure that we deliver our charitable aims, are impartial, transparent and act with integrity.

We have a robust nutrition and health information production procedure for our website content, and are certified members of the Patient Information Forum PIF TICK the only UK quality mark for trustworthy health information. To be awarded the PIF TICK an organisation must show its health information production process meets acceptable standards in a set of core criteria.   

The British Nutrition Foundation attaches substantial value to  the collaborations and partnerships that we have forged, both in the UK and internationally, which constitutes the network in which we operate. This network enables us to extend our influence without moving our focus from the things we do well.

We have a track record in harnessing the expertise of others to deliver a multi-disciplinary perspective, as illustrated by the outputs of our series of Task Forces, our conferences and events (e.g. roundtables), and the composition of our governance. Through our work with schools and our scientific reports, we are known for collating and disseminating best practice that has the potential to facilitate behaviour change and so improve the health and wellbeing of the population.

Our funding comes from: membership subscriptions; donations and project grants from food producers and manufacturers, retailers and food service companies; contracts with government departments; conferences, publications and training; overseas projects; funding from grant providing bodies, trusts and other charities. Our corporate members and committee membership are listed on our website and in our annual reports.

We believe that our strengths lie in our:

• networks and strong links with the nutrition science community residing in universities and research institutes;
• openness and willingness to listen;
• networks within the wider education sector, especially schools;
• longstanding working relationships with government officials and with health professional sectors engaged in communicating nutrition advice;
• nutrition science communication experience;
• collaborations over many years with the food and agriculture sectors, across the food chain;
• broad funding base and robust and open governance structure;
• strong team of subject experts (nutrition, and education).