katie kennedy - dietitian

Katie Kennedy MNutr RD, Company Dietitian (UK & Ireland). Dr. Schär UK Ltd.

MyNutriWeb recently caught up with Katie Kennedy, Company Dietitian (UK & Ireland) at Dr. Schär UK Ltd. Katie reflects on her unique career journey, transitioning from the NHS to the food industry. In this interview-style blog, she shares her experiences, insights on working as a dietitian in the food industry, and key projects she’s been involved in, from developing low FODMAP resources to setting international nutritional standards.

Q: Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a food industry dietitian?

For me, working as a dietitian in the food industry is both a privilege and a pleasure. Like the majority of dietitians, I began my career in the NHS – advising patients in one-to-one and group settings across both acute and community settings. After gaining vital clinical experience, I began to consider what other roles my dietetic knowledge and skills could be applied to. I had very little understanding of dietetic roles outside of the NHS, but the idea of improving nutritional health from a completely new angle was really appealing.  I successfully applied for my first food industry Company Dietitian role in 2006, and the rest, as they say is history!

Q: What’s the scope of dietetic work in the food industry?

Over the last 20 years, the breadth of settings and roles in which registered dietitians have been able to utilise their unique knowledge and skills, has grown significantly. However, the most recent BDA work force survey (2018) reported that just 0.8% of BDA members work within the food industry, with a further 1% working in other organisations outside of the NHS or private healthcare services. Whilst it’s clear that there is significant potential for growing our influence in this sector, it’s important to remember that these figures don’t necessarily reflect the true number of registered dietitians working in roles outside of the NHS, since some may choose not to purchase or maintain BDA membership.

Q: What is your current role at Dr. Schär, and what does it involve?

I’m often asked – What do food industry dietitians do? I believe the answer is very different for each of us. I work for a specialist gluten-free food manufacturer, Dr Schär. My role sits within the local marketing team, however I’m also part of a global ‘Nutrition Service’, staffed by dietitians from 8 countries. Day to day, I’m involved in creating and approving health and nutrition related marketing copy, developing communication plans to promote our brands and services to other healthcare professionals, and supporting sales and marketing colleagues to educate customers (e.g retailers) on the relevance of a gluten-free diet for various populations. Despite working in a relatively niche area, focussing specifically on gluten related disorders, no two days are ever the same for me.

Q: What motivated you to transition from the NHS to the food industry?

Another question that colleagues often pose is why I left the NHS to pursue a food industry career. The old cliché of wanting a new challenge is actually very accurate, but I also feel it’s important to stress that I didn’t fall out of love with my clinical role, I simply came to understand that there is a desperate need for dietitians to be present at all points along a client’s food and health journey. By working alongside our food industry colleagues we can improve nutritional standards, tackle portion size and availability issues, lobby for research investment and ensure appropriate, evidence-based food marketing practices. As someone who has experienced both clinical and industry dietetic roles, I can tell you that there is no darker or lighter side to the dietetic profession, there is simply ‘the profession’, with the same code of conduct, the same professional standards, and the same desire to improve the nutritional health of our patients, or in my case – our customers.

Q: Can you share some case studies to highlight the impact of dietitians in the food industry?

 Case study examples, Dr Schär Nutrition Service

 To help elaborate on the typical tasks undertaken by food industry dietitians and underline the vital importance of our role, I’ve shared some recent case studies from my own experiences, below:

Low FODMAP accreditation & development of IBS patient resources

As many gluten-free breads, including our own, include a small number of potentially high FODMAP ingredients (e.g apple fibre), it was unclear which gluten-free products may be suitable to be consumed safely, particularly during the restriction phase of the low FODMAP diet. In 2017, following significant market research and internal scientific briefings led by company dietitians, the decision was made to fund independent testing of Schär’s core product range via the Monash University testing and certification programme. This was followed by clear consumer communication regarding FODMAP suitability of individual products and further supported by the development of evidence-based, peer reviewed patient and healthcare professional literature to help educate IBS patients regarding the low FODMAP dietary approach. In the last 12 months alone, over 3000 copies of our IBS low FODMAP patient booklets have been delivered free of charge to dietitians within the UK.

low fodmap diet

Dr Schär Institute (DSI) Nutrition Project Award

In 2015, company dietitians developed, promoted and delivered a plan to provide a substantial biennial project grant to practicing dietitians who submitted their ideas for a small-scale research or service development project in the area of gastrointestinal nutrition. Whilst the award ethos and criteria has changed over time, the core aim of this offering was to offer funding beyond Schär’s regular international research programme to inspire practicing healthcare professionals to share their enthusiasm for improving current practice. As was hoped, dietitians of all grades have submitted their project ideas over subsequent years. To date, £28,000 has been awarded to dietitians via the DSI Award. Funded projects have so far included the development of a coeliac home education video (Cardiff & Vale UHB) and the completion of a pilot project to investigate the potential of a telephone clinic to improve dietary adherence amongst coeliac patients (University of Roehampton).

International quality commitment

Following the publication of the UK government’s Childhood obesity strategy in 2016, and subsequent nutritional reformulation targets set out by the UK government, significant political and public pressure has justly been applied on food manufacturers and retailers to improve the nutrient profile of their products, with a particular emphasis on sugar, salt, calorie and portion size reduction. Whilst gluten-free foods are consumed by a minority, the potential for their nutritional profile to influence health remains significant for those who rely on them. In 2018, company dietitians developed a proposal to set internationally applicable nutritional targets across all new products, alongside a staged reformulation plan for all products that do not currently meet Public Health England’s reformulation targets. In doing so, Schär became the first dedicated gluten-free food manufacturer to publish an international Nutritional Quality Commitment, providing specific and measurable targets to reduce sugar and salt in all relevant products.

Q – Can you share some tips for nutrition professionals interested in working for the food industry

  1. Completing a short work experience placement may help you to decide if a career in the food industry is for you. Approach companies with company dietitians/ nutritionists already in post so that you can shadow their activities.
  1. Align yourself with brands and companies that you like, trust and respect. Bear in mind that not all nutrition professionals will agree on which foods or companies are “worthy” of promoting. Our primary task is helping companies with a desire to engage, to create better foods and communicate health benefits to consumers in an effective and responsible way. If you feel you can make a difference – go for it!
  1. Be transparent in disclosing your food industry relationship in all forms of communication. Transparency builds trust, preserves integrity and promotes more meaningful conversations.

Q: What is the value of dietitians working within the food industry?

Dietitians possess numerous transferable skills, knowledge and expertise to help guide the food industry in science-based nutrition insight, content, and communications. By working in collaboration with the food industry, we can tackle nutrition-related public health issues from an alternative angle, whilst still maintaining our integrity and working within our code of conduct.

Ensuring the environmental sustainability of food production and manufacturing processes has become an increasingly urgent issue for producers around the world, Dr Schär is no exception. Over recent years, we have worked hard to adapt our processes throughout the entire food production system.  A particular highlight from the last 12 months was the substantial packaging reduction achieved for our most popular bread products. A 38% reduction in plastic packaging was achieved, resulting in further benefits in reduced carbon emissions from transportation that equate to 581,000 km fewer miles being travelled by our delivery trucks.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written in collaboration with Dr. Schär UK Ltd. Approval of each sponsor and activity is carefully assessed for suitability on a case by case basis. Sponsorship does not imply any endorsement of the brand by MyNutriWeb, its organisers, its moderators or any participating healthcare professional, or their association. Sponsorship funds are reinvested into the creation and promotion of professional development opportunities on MyNutriWeb.

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