University of Reading
Profile
Reading is among one of the UK’s top universities with a world-class reputation for the quality of teaching, research and links to business. Expertise extends across the whole food value chain from crop/livestock production and agri-environmental systems, to food processing and animal and human nutrition, including the impact of diet on health. Expertise also covers social sciences, including the psychology of consumer behaviour, and business research and training.
Competences & Capabilities
The University of Reading has an international reputation for integrative, interdisciplinary research across the whole food chain; to understand how interventions can be optimised to sustain and improve the provision of safe, nutritious food whilst minimising the impact on the environment. The Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health brings together expertise across the University to support multi-disciplinary collaboration.
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Partner in the following EIT Food projects
View all EIT Food projects-
projectThis event will provide insight into the results of the EIT Food project “NUTRIMILK", hosted by the University of Reading.
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projectIndustry consumer trust initiatives undertaken through collaboration with the Grand Challenge project funded by EIT Food.
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projectExplore how innovative, digital technologies can help achieve sustainable intensification of arable farming systems.
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projectLearn how to find reliable, scientific information about food and nutrition and identify the truth behind food headlines.
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projectGain an understanding of sustainable food production and the challenges that farmers face to offer a sustainable food supply.
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projectWhat is a ‘superfood’? What foods are ‘superfoods’? What effect do they have on the body and society? Find out with this course.
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projectHave you ever wondered how your food is processed before it reaches your plate? Find out with this online course
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projectBecome more confident in making informed decisions about the food you eat by exploring different food controversies.
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projectHow much do you trust your food? Learn about food supply systems, safety, sustainability and nutrition and quality
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Food Solutions
2021 > 2025projectFood Solutions brings together multi-disciplinary teams to tackle real-life industry challenges and develop innovative new solutions for the food system -
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InformPack
2021 > 2024projectInformPack explores the cross-cultural variations amongst consumers in terms of awareness, information gaps, issues and attitudes towards food packaging upon purchase and disposal patterns at home and on the go.
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Be part of the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community.
Related
blog
Ageing is a natural part of life, but who says ageing can’t be healthy? Food and nutrition play a key role in ensuring health and wellbeing extends to all ages, and here we spotlight some of the key solutions across Europe.
news
EIT Food North-West is delighted to announce 15 innovative agrifood startups that have joined EIT Food’s 3 flagship entrepreneurship programmes to launch, accelerate and scale their businesses, and its regional community.
project
Proofs of concepts help to determine whether an idea, a specific concept or approach when turned into reality would bring societal impact as envisioned.
Smart-ET
2020
project
Smart-ET will use COVID-19 data from farms to predict variations in dairy production and market feed costs, helping to reorganise dairy production and supply during pandemic events or similar market shocks
project
Learn how agri-food supply chains deal with crises and get practical advice on how you can minimise disruption during COVID-19.
From Waste to Value: How to Tackle Food Waste
2021 > 2023
project
Discover the causes and impact of food waste, and learn how you can tackle it on a personal, community, and national level.
Professional Development Framework
2020 > 2022
project
EIT Food’s Professional Development Framework aims to provide a key resource for the food sector by creating an integrated approach to develop a skilled, innovative workforce.
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Households contribute to 53% of total food waste produced.
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We are proposing that a labelling system such as the front-of-pack nutrition wheel could offer an opportunity for the transparency information relating to sustainability indicators to be displayed on food packaging to aid communication…
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The “EIT Food School Network” third year activities are focused on the organisation of four stakeholder workshops (school staff, key organisations involved in regulating schools, academics and policy makers). Due to the current…
The Human Microbiome
2020 > 2023
project
A massive on line open course will be designed and deliver in year 2020 focusing on the human microbiome and its impact on human health.
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Consider ways arable farmers in the EU can use agri-tech to benefit business
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Iodine (I) deficiency is the greatest single cause of preventable brain damage, resulting in impaired intellectual ability and reduced school/work performance globally.
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The European Food Systems Education and Training (EFSET) programme addresses the increasingly challenging array of food-related problems, such as food waste or malnutrition.
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The Smart Tags communication project is set to increase consumer trust towards food products by sharing information about the food product value chain during the whole life-cycle of the product, enabling novel service concepts and…
EIT Food Digital Marketplace for Side Streams
2019 > 2020
project
A substantial part of the food industries' produce ends up to now as waste.
project
Access to fresh produce is and will continue to be an issue in the densely populated European cities. Due to the long and complex supply chain up to 40% of the products ends as waste and the nutrient value of the remaining ones is often…
project
How much do you trust your food? Learn about food supply systems, safety, sustainability and nutrition and quality.
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SeaCH4NGE aims to reduce methane (CH4) emission from cattle and increase product quality.
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This project will develop an analytical service to authenticate organic milk and enhance transparency throughout the dairy supply chain. This responds to an increasing consumer demand for strong commitment of the food industry to robust…
Constituent sensing of small grains
2019 > 2020
project
Knowledge of the food constituents (e.g. protein, carbohydrates) is important for consumers as indicators of nutritional value as well as for the food producers concerning processing quality.
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The food that consumers buy and eat is influenced by a complex interaction of cognitive, sensory, economic, and health factors that lead to gaps between their intentions and behaviour.
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To further develop and test a digital platform as a supporting basis for creating and delivering personalised nutrition (PN) services in Europe via a non-profit organisation with payable services/memberships to cover operational costs.…
project
EIT Food’s Professional Development Framework aims to provide a key resource for the food sector by creating an integrated approach to develop a skilled, innovative workforce.
Explore How Farmers Produce Food Sustainably
2019 > 2023
project
Gain an understanding of sustainable food production and the challenges that farmers face to offer a sustainable food supply.
Focus on Farmers
2019
project
Agricultural technologies and innovations offer significant opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of farm businesses, through optimised yields, reduced environmental impact and increased profitability.
Engaging with Controversies in the Food System
2019 > 2023
project
Become more confident in making informed decisions about the food you eat by exploring different food controversies.
project
Have you ever wondered how your food is processed before it reaches your plate? Find out with this online course.
project
Reducing the environmental footprint of livestock farming
PACK4SENSE: Paper packaging for SENSitivE foods
2021 > 2022
project
Making paper packaging more recyclable and versatile
Master in Food Systems
2019 > 2024
project
Develop in-depth knowledge about food systems through studying consecutively at three distinct European academic institutions and use your knowledge to drive the future transformation of the food system.
Nutrition for Health and Sustainability
2020 > 2023
project
Explore the relationship between nutrition, health and sustainability and understand how healthy eating can prevent disease.
Inspire Programme
2021 > 2025
project
Boost your skills, drive change and do business in the agrifood sector!
project
Sugar reduction in foods remains challenging; it is not only the sweetness of sugar but also the physical properties and cost that have to be matched.
WeValueFood 2020
2019 > 2020
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WeValueFood (2-year project) has educated, engaged and advanced the young Europeans’ knowledge of and appreciation of food, thereby empowering the next generations to make the best choices about the food that they eat.
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Healthy eating in childhood tracks into adulthood, so promoting dietary variety should begin early.
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Communicating the benefits of precision farming
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This project tests the acceptability of novel healthy processed meat products incorporating plant-based ingredients among European consumers.
Understanding Food Labels
2020 > 2023
project
Learn how to interpret food labels so you can make informed food choices and buy food that supports your health and wellbeing.
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In the Food Solutions "MICROBIOME-PUSH: Into Microbiome Exploitation in Food Systems" we will focus on the applications of microbiomes in different segments of the food chain.
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Rebuild your trust in nutrition science and look beyond the media headlines
Professional Development Advanced
2020 > 2022
project
EIT Food's Professional Development Framework - Advanced aims to provide a key resource for the food sector by creating an integrated approach to develop a skilled, innovative workforce.
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Providing precision agriculture solutions for farmers
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Fruit crop protection is heavily dependent on chemical pesticides but consumers and fruit processors are increasingly interested in residue-free fruit.
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Co-creating initiatives to increase consumer trust in food
Superfoods: Myths and Truths
2018 > 2023
project
What is a ‘superfood’? What foods are ‘superfoods’? What effect do they have on the body and society?
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FoodAmbassadors is a project that aims to engage food and health Influencers in order to co-create science-based content for their community.
Games of Food
2019 > 2020
project
Games of Food is increasing public awareness around balanced nutrition and a healthy lifestyle through the use of Escape games.
project
Improving communication of food health claims. This project builds on a previous programme of work to engage consumers and manufacturers on the wording of food health claims, with the aim of increasing consumer confidence and trust.
project
Sugar reduction in foods remains challenging; it is not only the sweetness of sugar but also physiochemical properties and cost that have to be matched.
project
Improving European farmers' competitiveness through technology transfer and innovation integration is essential to address future challenges in the sector. Increasing wheat grain quality and yield and enabling sustainable intensification…
project
Packaging needs to become more sustainable!
Our Nutritious Protein
2019 > 2020
project
Consumer desire for protein-rich foods and beverages is driving growth and innovation in protein ingredients.The population growth together with the changes in the food consumption patterns away from animal -derived proteins, further…
Health SnaP
2019 > 2020
project
The purpose of this activity is to support healthy eating by developing a new food manufacturing technology and B2C business concept for at-site customised production of healthy snacks.
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Saturated fat intake in most EU states still exceed the guidelines for reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
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The social awareness campaign ‘Don’t be a food waster’ wants to make all audiences proud to say ‘I am not a food waster’ with the ultimate goal of reducing food waste at all levels in the food system.
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Reducing sugar consumption is essential for health but a huge challenge for the food industry.
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Food Generator Track is a competition which challenges Master or PhD students of 3 Universities to develop new, innovative solutions for and from food losses of production facilities and retail activities.
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New technologies and innovations offer significant opportunities to farm businesses to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, enhance yields and outputs, as well as reducing environmental impacts.
Consumer Observatory
2023 > 2025
project
Europe’s central hub for consumer insights on agrifood topics.
TrustTracker®
2018 > 2025
project
Insights used to enhance consumer trust in the food value chain.
regional blog
From discussions about sustainable packaging, to the future of the EU-Green Deal, and not forgetting the newest topic of pet food, EIT Food’s community dived into multiple conversations across their Edinburgh conference.
Regenerative Agriculture Guidebook for Dairy Farms
June 17, 2024
report
Welcome to the ultimate resource for regenerative agriculture on dairy farms! Whether you're an experienced farmer or just starting out, our comprehensive guidebook is your key to transforming your farming practices and ensuring a…
blog
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become a contentious topic in nutritional science and public health, igniting debates due to varying definitions, advice, and information. Here we explore the impacts of UPFs, consumer perceptions,…
news
Study of 19,642 consumers across 18 European countries shows a decline in trust in food sector actors such as manufacturers, authorities, retailers and farmersOnly a third of consumers believe the food they eat is sustainable.
news
New study of nearly 10,000 consumers across 17 European countries finds the majority of consumers think ultra-processed foods are bad for their health.
regional news
An EIT Food funded project transformed organic waste streams into, a valuable, next generation sustainable aquaculture feed ingredient called METAFEED Alpha.
regional news
An EIT Food funded project adapted recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) technology for fish production to create a water treatment solution that cleans and recycles water. It does this with zero-discharge to maintain the welfare and…
regional news
An EIT Food funded project utilised a novel cutting-edge technology to harness the power of clean energy sources and natural carbon dioxide (CO₂) for the cultivation of microalgae as a sustainable source of ingredients for the aquafeed…
regional news
An EIT Food funded project converted aquaculture organic waste streams into sustainable, algal-based microencapsulated feeds for bivalve shellfish.
Welcome to our new partners to the EIT Food South Community!
April 20, 2020
news
We send a warm welcome to our new partners who are now joining the EIT Food Community: 6 Core Partners, 4 Network Partners and 2 associate partners. Each of these organisations brings considerable expertise and experience to support our…