F2F
FACE TO FACE Ursula meets: Ursula Arens Writer; Nutrition & Dietetics Ursula has a degree in dietetics, and currently works as a freelance nutrition writer. She has been a columnist on nutrition for more than 30 years.
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Ursula meets amazing people who influence nutrition policies and practices in the UK.
SUSAN CHURCH Food composition expert Nutrition analysis trainer and food industry consultant
It was the end of the last day of the Nutrition Society summer meeting and Susan and I walked the 100 steps to the café at Somerset House, by the Thames. Little did we know that this was to be the venue for a live concert by the singer ‘Birdy’ in a few hours, and her musicians were setting up the sound systems. Cups of tea to Skinny Love. All dietitians have much loved, dogeared copies of McCance and Widdowson’s (M&W) The Composition of Foods. Perhaps it is the now obsolete edition six, published in 2002, or is it edition seven, published in 2014? In either case, Susan Church is listed among the compilers. These tomes are the fruits of huge efforts of time, money and expertise. “Most people, perhaps including dietitians, do not realise how much work goes into the development of a food composition database,” said Susan. She is very insistent that she is only a small part of the team and repeatedly says that I misunderstand her importance. But I know that she has been the most constant presence over a very long time in the development of the UK food composition database. Susan’s A-Levels were in Home Economics and Physics and Maths, perhaps some hint that her future career would bring together food and numbers. Her degree was in Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Nottingham and her first job was as an information scientist at the food industry body, the Leatherhead
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Food Research Association. “The job must have been from an advertisement in New Scientist magazine - it’s where I have found all my jobs,” said Susan. After three years and three thousand food science questions from food industry staff, it was time to move on. In 1991, she joined the nutrition department of the now-no-longer Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). The main job was the development of the food composition database which was needed for the assessment of government surveys of the nutrient intake and status of the UK population. The first survey Susan supported was that of food intakes of preschool children, allowing her an insight into every kind of toddler food. She was also closely involved in the fifth supplement of the fifth edition of M&W on Meat, Poultry and Game published in 1995. This was an essential update, because consumer preferences and intakes of meat had changed, leading to modifications in breeding and butchery specifications. Experts from the meat industries and food analysis helped to design the sampling to best reflect the types of meat being consumed in the UK at the time. An update of this information is now overdue! In 2000, this work was partly merged into the new more consumer-focused Food Standards Agency (FSA). For Susan it was same-job, different employer. Her
biggest project was the national survey of diet and nutrition in those on low incomes, published in 2007. The project was the outcome of a decade of research, and included experts from the National Centre for Social Research, King’s College London, the Royal Free and the University College London Medical School. This was a difficult project, as many of the interviewees reported long-term illness, no educational qualifications or poor understanding of the English language. But the challenging procedures in obtaining the information makes the outcomes very valuable: the report is still the most comprehensive assessment of diets of people with low incomes and remains the bedrock of discussions to support diet and nutrition policies in the UK. The development of accuracy and consistency of food composition data has been Susan’s most constant mission. From 2005, she joined the brigade of freelancers. In addition to supporting the ongoing development of the food database needed for the government National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), she consulted on the most recent, 7th summary edition of The Composition of Foods. This avocado-edition with feasts of new data was funded by Public Health England (PHE) and produced by a consortium led by the Institute of Food Research (IFR, now Quadram Institute). “There are constant changes to the supply and composition of food, and we try to make sure that the information we have is as accurate as possible. New foods arrive in the UK diet: think hummus or falafels. And there are many reformulation changes that have reduced trans fats, salt and sugar contents,” said Susan. There have also been methodology changes in food analysis over many years. “Fibre used to be measured by the Southgate method. Then the UK adopted the Englyst method.
Now the AOAC method is used for both labelling and the new DRVs. These different methods can give very different results, that dietitians should be aware of,” said Susan. At the moment, funding for the food composition database is on hold, and food composition professionals are anxious that the accuracy of information may drift. The team need to look at new ways to keep the database updated, including collaboration with industry. Susan seems anxious that the future is not rosy. Another freelancer project was the European Food Information Resource (FIR) association. This network of expertise from many European countries worked to develop a single online platform of upto-date food composition data. This has now been expanded into an international member-based association (EuroFIR AISBL). A current project is the development of validated information about bioactive plant compounds in the diet. “Dietitians should consider joining as individual members; a small fee of about £60 gives members access to a huge database of nutrient and food component information,” said Susan. Recipe analysis is easy-as-pie for Susan, but a scary crisis for pie manufacturers. She undertakes analysis and offers expert advice to many organisations and companies that need to declare nutrition information. But there are too many food companies and not enough Susans, and she also runs a twice-yearly course on Recipe Analysis, Maximizing Accuracy, for dietitians and nutritionists whose job requires this skill (see NHD’s events and courses page at www.NHDmag.com for more information on these). As we leave Somerset House, there are queues of young people waiting to see the celebrity. Little do they realise that she is walking next to me.
If you would like to suggest a F2F date
(someone who is a ‘shaker and mover’ in UK nutrition) for Ursula, please contact:
info@networkhealthgroup.co.uk www.NHDmag.com October 2017 - Issue 128
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