The deliberative dialogue will ask participants to share what they think about UPFs, including how they affect our health as well as their governance and regulation.

In addition, the research will explore where people get their information from and who they trust when it comes to UPFs.

The public dialogue started in January and findings will be reported once it has concluded in a year’s time.

The findings will be brought together with existing evidence about the public’s perceptions of UPFs to help UKRI identify and address gaps in existing knowledge and develop future research priorities.

The results of the project will also be made available to government and wider stakeholders and feed into work underway to create a new national food strategy.

The project was commissioned by UKRI with support from Sciencewise, the UKRI funded public dialogue programme.

Dr Riaz Bhunnoo, associate director at UKRI’s Global Food Security Programme, said: “Food matters to everyone in society, and we know that UPFs are a major component of modern diets. It is therefore vital that we include public perspectives in our approach to research on UPFs.

“This new dialogue will explore some of the complexities around how people view UPFs and their place in our food system and we hope that as a result, future research into UPFs will better respond to peoples’ experiences and priorities.”

Tom Saunders, head of public engagement at UKRI, added: “This ground-breaking public dialogue comes at a crucial moment in the debate around UPFs.

“By bringing public voices into a conversation that they have not been involved in, we will gain vital insights into people’s lived experiences, concerns, and hopes. This evidence will be instrumental in shaping future research and ensuring it responds to real public needs and priorities.”