Two government-backed UK research councils are working in conjunction with 15 food and drinks companies – including the likes of Nestle, PepsiCo, Mondelez and Unilever – to fund research into the relationship between diet and health.

Funding of GBP4m (US$6.8m) is being provided to six research projects through Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC), a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) led collaboration with the food and drink firms.

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Among the projects are studies investigating how better nutrition can slow down or prevent osteoarthritis, how dietary fibre can be used to lower cholesterol and how small behavioural “nudges” can support people seeking to consume fewer calories and control their weight .

The BBSRC and Medical Research Council are together contributing 90% of the funds with the food and drink companies providing the remaining 10%.

A spokesperson for the BBSRC told just-food that the research findings will be “publicly accessible” as they will be published in peer-review journals. 

The research will also be fed back to the industry through regular meetings between DRINC members and researchers, the spokesperson said. “There are dissemination events every 9months where the researchers and DRINC partners can meet and interact with each other about the projects. In addition the research teams who hold DRINC grants produce an annual report on their work.”

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Dr Celia Caulcott, BBSRC executive director, innovation and skills, said: “This research from the Diet and Health Research Industry Club has exciting potential to meet the needs of UK consumers and deliver real health, economic and social benefits. It is an excellent example of Research Councils and industry working together to address critical challenges.”