This event is organised by IFST and Campden BRI
The IFST & Campden BRI Forum on 17th March 2025, held at ExCeL London's prestigious Platinum Suite and welcoming over 100 delegates, provided a crucial platform for exploring the multifaceted world of processed food reformulation. This event, taking place alongside the Food Drink and Hospitality Week, focused on "Reformulation of Processed Food – Perceptions, Realities, and Finding the Balance". The discussions aimed to unravel the challenges and highlight the opportunities in creating healthier processed foods that resonate with consumers and adhere to evolving regulatory landscapes.
The forum was chaired by Professor Colin Dennis, who set the stage for a day of insightful presentations and discussions focused on navigating the complexities of food reformulation for health. Lewis Wallis from Campden BRI started by offering a comprehensive overview titled "Reformulation of Processed Foods: The Current State of Play – Perceptions, Realities & Balance". Wallis began by outlining the background of food classifications, including unprocessed, minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). He delved into public perceptions of UPFs, noting that while it ranks high in consumer concerns, accurate categorisation remains a challenge. Wallis highlighted the association between UPFs and disease risk, often categorised at the product level, contrasting this with consumer perception which is largely at the ingredient level. He further explored professional perceptions of processed foods, acknowledging the confusion even among experts. Moving to the realities of classification, Wallis compared classification by product name/category with classification by product nutrition/ingredients, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. He also addressed the interplay between UPF and HFSS. Looking towards potential future directions, Wallis discussed the integration of processing 
markers into Nutrient Profiling Models (NPMs), incorporating nutrient thresholds into processing classifications, and the development of NPMs specifically for processed and ultra-processed foods. He concluded by outlining three key asks for a balanced approach: acknowledging the necessity of processing alongside disease risk associations, the need for evidence-based classification solutions, and the helpfulness of ingredient-level metrics alongside nutrition metrics.
Following this broad overview, Dr. Caroline Saunders from pladis provided a manufacturer's perspective with her presentation on "HFSS and Nutrient Profiling: A Manufacturer's Approach". Dr Saunders addressed the challenge of finding a global method to measure the healthiness of their products, noting the existence of three scoring systems in their regions. Pladis aims to create a standardised s
coring system for global comparison. Dr. Saunders emphasised that product healthiness is a balance of nutrients to limit (energy, saturated fat, sugars, sodium/salt) and those to encourage (fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fibre, protein). She detailed pladis's approaches to delivering great tasting healthier products, which include reformulation (gradual reduction of sugar and/or sodium, saturated fat reduction), nutrient reduction (significant reductions with replacement strategies and new technologies), and portion control (less than 100 kcals, single and multipacks). Dr. Saunders also discussed how to reduce nutrients to limit and increase nutrients to encourage, mentioning initiatives like the LowCalFood project aimed at creating low-calorie, fibre-enriched foods. She highlighted the challenges of NHFSS, particularly the multifaceted role of sugar in food and the complexities of sugar reduction. Dr. Saunders also addressed Ultra Processed Foods, referencing Monteiro's definition based on the presence of ingredients rarely used in kitchens or specific classes of additives.
James Foreman from The Compleat Food Group then presented under the theme of a manufacturer's approach to Ultra Processed Foods, introducing "The Compleat Food Health Charter". The presentation further defines Ultra Processed Foods as items difficult to recreate at home, manufactured for taste and convenience, with long shelf lives, and often containing unfamiliar ingredients. It highlights the importance of classifying raw materials based on processing levels, referencing the NOVA and Marks & Spencer classifications.
The forum then moved into a Panel Session featuring a diverse group of industry experts: Andrea Cattaruzza (Director, AndCat), Michael Adams (Product Innovation Lead, Campden BRI), Joanne Burns (Reformulation for Health Manager, FDF Scotland), Joanne Lunn (Partner & Senior Ethics and Sustainability Manager, Health, Waitrose), and Fleur Key (Nutrition Manager, Costa Coffee). This session provided a valuable opportunity to hear different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities discussed throughout the day, offering practical insights into implementing reformulation strategies across various food businesses.
Overall, the 2025 IFST & Campden BRI Forum built upon the success of previous events by providing
a focused and in-depth exploration of food reformulation. The combination of manufacturer insights, expert perspectives, and discussions on key challenges and opportunities made this a significant event for professionals in the food industry, further enhanced by the contributions of the panellists and the sponsored speaker. The sponsorship from NutriCalc - Nutrition Calculation Software and Ulrick & Short also highlights the industry's commitment to innovation in this vital area. For our members who were unable to attend in person, please log in to access the recordings of these insightful presentations below.
