According to its entry in the Charity Commission's register, the aims of the British Nutrition Foundation are:
to advance the education of the public, and those involved in the training and education of others, in nutrition; and
to advance the study of and research into nutrition for the public benefit, and to disseminate and publish the useful results of such research.
Operations
The BNF's team of nutrition scientists conduct academic reviews of published research on issues of diet and public health. They present their reports in the BNF's Nutrition Bulletin, as well as various Task Force reports, intended for both academic and lay dissemination. The BNF also organises educational programs designed to provide accessible information on diet and health for children and young people, aged 3–16+ years. The BNF's education website, foodafactoflife.org.uk, provides teaching and learning resources about food and nutrition. The BNF receives funding for its projects from a variety of sources, including contracts with the European Commission, national government departments and agencies; food producers and manufacturers, retailers and food service companies; grant providing bodies, trusts and other charities.
Criticism
Concerns have been raised about the BNF's relationship with the food industry. The BNF receives funding from some food manufacturers and distributors in the UK. The British Medical Journal published an article in 2010 criticizing the way in which the BNF has been treated as a source of impartial nutritional information by the media, usually without describing the industry ties. It also criticized the UK government for paying the BNF to develop educational materials on nutrition, and quoted Tim Lobstein, a director at the International Association for the Study of Obesity-International Obesity Task Force, saying that some BNF educational materials seem to support industry messages. A 1985 World in Action documentary interviewed Derek Shrimpton, a previous director general at BNF, who said: "In the period I was there the foundation was solely taken up with defence actions for the industry." He also said that BNF worked to frustrate government committees working on policies to reduce sugar, salt, and fat consumption. The BNF is open about its intention to shape UK Government policy on food, and this has led to concerns that it is serving as a lobbying group for the food industry.
