About us

There is hardly a week goes by without some food and health issue hitting the headlines, from BSE and genetically modified foods to increasing obesity and functional foods. One thing which all of these issues have in common is the role of public responses and behaviours as well as the biological science underlying them.

In addition to an understanding of the fundamental biological effects of foods and nutrients on health there is a crucial need to understand consumer behaviour and choice of foods and to integrate these insights with those from the biological sciences.

Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health is a multidisciplinary Research Centre which offers a solution to integrating the social and biological sciences needed to address these crucial issues. The major driving force behind the Research Centre is the need to translate basic biological knowledge on food safety, diet and health in order to facilitate the improvement of people's lives.

There are three strands to achieving this overall goal:

  • Identifying biological knowledge which is applicable: the nature of nutrient needs, the influence of nutrient intake and the impact of non-nutrients on health
  • Understanding individual human behaviour and social influences: consumer attitudes, perceptions and behaviour and the impact of society
  • Accounting for the economic and management realities of delivering food to the public: management within the food sector and its impact on consumer choice