Recipient Organization
INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FOOD & NUTRITION SCIENCES
740 15TH ST NW
WASHINGTON,DC 20005
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Safe, high quality, and nutritious foods are critical for human health and well-being, and their sustained production is important for domestic and global competitiveness of American agricultural products, fostering consumer trust and the long-term sustainability of the U.S. agricultural industries. The food system plays a key role in addressing diet-related chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain types of cancers. To provide the scientific foundation for addressing the demand for safe, high quality, accessible and nutritious foods throughout the lifecycle, and to explore unrealized opportunities for improving food safety, quality and nutrition along the value chain requires a science-based and transdisciplinary approach to addressing if there is a health impact from food processing and formulation. Processing and formulation are distinct characteristics of foods, measured differently, and with different impacts on health,that are often conflated in the category of"ultra-processed foods".This project aims to level-set the inconsistencies and controversy surrounding the evaluation of processing and formulation, to ensure that food classification and decisions basedon these schemes are impactful to health.Given the weight of discussions in this area, the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Scientific Advisory Committee (DGAC) addressed the question: "What is the relationship between consumption of dietary patterns with varying amounts of ultra-processed foods and growth, size, body composition, risk of overweight and obesity, and weight loss and maintenance?" (USDA/HHS, 2022). In May 2024, the DGAC reported that: "Limited evidence suggests that dietary patterns with higher amounts of foods classified as UPF consumed by adults and older adults are associated with greater adiposity (fat mass, waist circumference, BMI) and risk of obesity/overweight." The statement was the same for the evaluation of children and adolescents and the same outcomes. In Meeting 5, the committee members noted that they struggled with the reality that there is no single definition for these foods (USDA/HHS, 2024).There is a clear need to improve research approaches and facilitate research evaluation and synthesis to evidence reviews such as that conduced by the DGAC - to ensure that policies based on the science have the intended benefits to public health, and avoid unintended adverse consequences.In this project, a Writing Group comprised of experts with varying expertise will draft Principles for Classification of Foods based on Processing and Formulation. These Principles are intended to represent agreement on the foundational evidence required for science-based food classification in this way. The broader food and nutrition community will be invited to comment on the draft principles to ensure that the Principles address the needs and challenges of stakeholders.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
This Conference Grant proposal seeks funding for a meeting of ~75 scientists aimed at gathering cross-sector stakeholder feedback on proposed Science-Based Principles for Food Classification based on Processing and Formulation in Support of Public Health to be held February 25, 2025. The outcome of the Conference Grant will support the meeting and subsequent publication of the proposed principles that would help to address current ambiguities and variations in current food classification systems.The one-day workshop will convene nutrition, food science, and public health experts to define the principles. The resulting principles can be used to:Document areas of alignment, based in science, across stakeholders holding diverse perspectives.Inform future research priorities for investigating effects of processed foods and food processing on human health in the context of the US food system.Evaluate findings from past and ongoing research studies that have tested food classification systems which incorporate processing and/or formulation characteristics.Support harmonized food classification and therefore improved alignment across methods and findings.Inform future refinements of the definition of UPFs to address the Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee's challenge with inconsistency.
Project Methods
One-day workshop organized byan IAFNS Tripartite Team including individuals from government, industry, and academia that are stakeholders in these discussions.The draft set of Principles will be guided by the IAFNS Tripartite Team with specific expertise including nutrition, food science, food development and manufacturing, sensory science, and other fields. A separate Writing Group, as described below, will draft the principles in alignment with a priori guardrails. It is anticipated that the draft Principles will consist of a list of five to ten statements.Meeting Process TimelineTimelineStepDescriptionJune-August 2024Stakeholder outreachOver the course of June-August of 2024, IAFNS has linked with key stakeholder groups, researchers, and others active in this space to obtain feedback on this workshop concept. Feedback has supported concept refinements but has overall been 100 percent positive.August-September 2024IAFNS Tripartite Team meetingsThe IAFNS Tripartite Team will define guardrails for the Principles, including objective/purpose, scope, and audience. The Tripartite Team will also identify a Writing Group (who is majority public sector) to draft the Principles. Additionally, the Team will identify key stakeholders to invite to the February meeting.The Writing Group is called out as a separate group because the size will be limited to no more than 10 to allow for progress. All studies conducted on the 'best' size of a working team reflect an ideal size of 7. The Writing Group members (if not already part of the Tripartite Team) will become members of the Tripartite Team.September 2024Writing Group AssembledThe Writing Group members, meeting specific expertise criteria defined by the IAFNS Tripartite Team, will be assembled and provided with the charge.September-December 2024Writing Group drafts the PrinciplesThe Writing Group convenes bi-weekly to draft principles, with check-in meetings to ensure alignment with the guardrails.November - January 2024Meeting organization and stakeholder invitationsIAFNS will finalize the date and logistics for the in-person meeting, to include extending invitations, setting up travel and other logistics.February 2025Meeting heldStakeholder meeting with ~75 in-person stakeholders and others participating virtually, in Washington, DC.Cross-sector participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Principles and offer refinements. The attendees are considered active participants in the process.February 2025 - June 2025Principles are iterated and finalizedPost-meeting iterations with stakeholders will occur until the final manuscript can be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in June.Remainder of 2025Knowledge mobilizationThe Principles will be presented at a variety of scientific venues to communicate the findings to key audiences.Potential journals for the outcome are Advances in Nutrition, Current Developments in Nutrition, or Frontiers in Nutrition.Meeting InviteesThe IAFNS Tripartite Team will select and invite a total of ~75 participants including stakeholders across sectors such as professional and health organization representatives (e.g., the American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, International Union of Food Technologists, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Heart Association, and others), staff of the USDA, US Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health, food industry scientists, and food and nutrition researchers, among others. Invitees will be selected based on expertise, engagement in the research community, prior and ongoing research on the topic of food processing and processed foods, and those who have a history of collaborating with diverse stakeholders on related complex public health topics. Individuals will be invited by the IAFNS staff on behalf of the IAFNS Tripartite Team.IAFNS will send invitations to prospective attendees on behalf of the Tripartite Team. Actual cost reimbursement (travel, hotel, food) will be provided for non-industry participants. Participants will book their own travel, guided by suggestions for hotel and local airports/train stations in the invitation. IAFNS will conduct preliminary interviews with invitees to inform them of the structure and topics of the workshop to ensure that all enter the meeting with the objectives in mind.In addition to the invited participants, remaining in-person space will be made available to any stakeholders interested in attending.Meeting FormatThe meeting will be held in-person with a virtual participation option. The virtual participation option will also allow those unable to attend to provide feedback on the Principles.Additionally, to encourage attendance and engagement from early career trainees, IAFNS will also offer opportunities for remote/virtual attendance for students. Engaging early career scientists is valuable for ensuring that future leaders understand the history of discussions and are exposed to multiple diverse perspectives.