Tate & Lyle PLC announced that it is supporting a new three-year research project by The University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute which aims to improve the understanding of the UK food system and help people experiencing food insecurity and living with obesity make healthier, more sustainable food choices.

The University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute has been awarded £1.6m funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to carry out the project, which will investigate how issues around poverty, food insecurity, and obesity may affect shopping habits.

The data will be gathered from participants from across the UK who will be sharing their experience of living with food insecurity and obesity, and also working with a large UK retailer to study the shopping habits of around 1,600,000 consumers.

The three-year study will bring together a panel of consumers, policy makers, charities, food and drink producers, processors, and retailers, as well as expert academics to advise, co-develop, and test strategies that can support future transformation within the UK food system. The results of the research will be made publicly available at the end of project.

As part of the project, and as the only food and drink ingredient solutions supplier on the panel, Tate & Lyle will provide industry insight on reformulation, as well as share their expertise on nutrition.

Dr Kavita Karnik, global head, nutrition & regulatory affairs at Tate & Lyle, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our guidance, expertise and know-how for this important piece of research.

“We are a science-led organization which helps big and small brands all over the world make food and drink healthier and tastier. Driven by our purpose of ‘Transforming Lives through the Science of Food’, we believe this research is essential to better understand food systems in the UK and provide real-world strategies of how dietary inequalities can be addressed within the food retail sector in an environmentally friendly way.”

Professor Alexandra Johnstone, Rowett Institute, added: “With the cost-of-living crisis it is only going to get harder for people to make healthy food choices, particularly those who are living with obesity and food insecurity. This is a vital piece of research, and we are very much looking forward to working with this excellent team on this extremely important topic.”