Emulsifiers are among the most common food additives found in ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a much-discussed category of foods commonly defined as those made using manufactured ingredients. They are often packaged and have a long shelf life. Research examining the impact of diets high in UPFs suggests higher rates of obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. However, discussions about labeling these foods as "ultra-processed" have also sparked debates about whether...
Jan 17, 2025•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform the food industry? Experts say it's already having an effect - whether through self-service checkouts or the algorithms that determine which recipes you see online or the way supermarkets are using it to predict the next big food trend. Jaega Wise heads to the Waitrose Headquarters in Berkshire to find out how their product development team is using AI to inform which ingredients they stock on the shelves. She also talks to the firm Tastewise which...
Jan 10, 2025•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the year 2000 there were barely any food banks in the UK but today there are nearly three thousand. So what's behind the sharp rise and how did it get to a point where the government says we have "a mass dependence" on food banks? In this episode Jaega Wise tells the story of the food bank. She hears from those using the Bristol North West food bank. They talk openly about how the food bank helped turn their lives around. She also visits a "social supermarket" in south London where people on ...
Jan 03, 2025•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Saladino explores the impact a Christmas Carol and other Charles Dickens novels have had on festive eating, with food historian Ivan Day and food writer Penelope Vogler. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Dec 27, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Christmas is a time for giving, and for many charities, that often means food. Jaega Wise explores the tradition and looks into the planning that goes into festive food donations. Food historian Carwyn Graves explains how the custom of giving food at Christmas has evolved over the centuries, and why the season inspires so many to give back to their communities. In Aberdare, we meet the team behind Company at Christmas, who host a festive feast for anyone who doesn’t want to spend Christmas Day a...
Dec 20, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Restaurant businesses say it's getting tougher to survive? So what does it take to thrive? Dan Saladino speaks to leading chefs, some successful, others less so. Featuring Mark Hix, Cyrus Todiwala, Imogen and Kieron Waite, Julian Dunkerton, Simon Rogan and Hugh Corcoran. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Dec 13, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Sheila Dillon at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow for the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024. The awards honour those who have done most to promote the cause of good food and drink. Our judging panel this year is chaired by chef and broadcaster Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in Bristol.
Dec 06, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sheila Dillon explores how our grannies' cooking can shape who we are—and asks what we lose if we let go of those traditions. Guests include: Vicky Bennison, founder of YouTube channel Pasta Grannies. Food Writer Clare Finney, and her Grandma Joan Fox. Chet Sharma, chef patron of Bibi, a restaurant named in honour of his grandmothers. Dr Fiona Lavelle from Kings College London, who is researching cooking skills and how they're passed on. and Pauline Crosby, a grandma from Norfolk who is shortlis...
Nov 29, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whether it's Turkish Delight, chocolate cake or ginger beer - some of our earliest food memories are shaped by the books we read. In this episode Sheila Dillon goes down the rabbit-hole of children's fiction to discover why young readers find descriptions of food so compelling. She hears from bestselling children's author Katherine Rundell who insists on eating the food she features in her books. Katherine reveals what it's like to sample a tarantula in the name of fiction. Professor of Children...
Nov 22, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Five seafood species make up 80% of what is consumed in the UK – while at the same time the vast majority of what is caught in UK waters gets exported. But is that trend beginning to shift? In this episode, Sheila Dillon hears how initiatives like the "Plymouth Fishfinger" are hoping to make more use of fish that has often been seen as ‘by-catch’, and how seafood festivals are working to connect the public with local seafood, and can even help regenerate coastal communities. She also hears how t...
Nov 16, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Peter Frankopan, the author of Silk Roads and Earth Transformed, shares his insights with Dan Saladino on food, history and questions for our future. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Nov 15, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this exploration of backstage food, Jaega Wise meets actors and musicians to find out how they eat to fuel their performance. The journey begins backstage at the Criterion Theatre in the West End, to meet stars of the hit musical Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty. From there Jaega chats to baker Stacy Donnelly who’s provided thousands of real-life pies for Waitress the Musical on broadway, and gets advice from nutritionist and dietician Jasmine Challis on...
Nov 02, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast From the indigenous food of the USA to extraordinary cheeses from Ukraine, the wonders of fermentation to a revolutionary network of bakers, Dan Saladino shares stories of food and biodiversity at Slow Food's global gathering, Terra Madre. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Oct 25, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Leyla Kazim explores how neurodivergence can affect the way people eat and experience food. The programme visits Aubergine Café in Cardiff, which is owned and run by autistic individuals, to meet the staff who explain why the café is needed and how it provides a better workplace for neurodivergent people. Leyla also speaks to expert dietitian David Rex, who supports children with autism facing eating challenges. She meets the parents of one of his patients, a four-year-old girl recently diagnose...
Oct 18, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jaega Wise travels the country to meet the three finalists in the Drinks Producer category in this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards. Her journey takes her to Belfast and the Bullhouse Brewery which began life in a farm shed. Now thriving in an industrial estate, head brewer Will Mayne talks about his frustrations with the current alcohol licensing system in Northern Ireland which he says made it hard for him to open a pub and sell his beer. The controversial "Surrender Principle" means there's...
Oct 11, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Saladino looks at 10 potentially planet changing ideas for the future of food, from a farm out at sea to a pioneering rethink on how we can feed cities. Dan meets the scientists, entrepreneurs and risk-takers focused on transforming the health of the planet, and us. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Oct 04, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why does food do our heads in? This episode is a panel recording from 2024 Abergavenny Food Festival with a live audience. Sheila Dillon is joined by Chef Heston Blumenthal, who recently went public about his diagnosis of bi-polar, and having ADHD (Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder); chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson, the author of "Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis"; Natalie Hackett the Headteacher of New Lubbesthorpe Primary School in Leicesters...
Sep 27, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Leyla Kazim traces the journey of this unassuming wonder food, from its health benefits to its origins. Nuts, which once would have been central to the diet of our ancestors, are now often treated as a nice-to-have health choice. It’s a food we need to reconnect with, and to do so, we can learn from both the latest science and other food cultures. Leyla hears from Professor Sarah Berry of King’s College London, who has studied how the form in which we eat nuts - whole, ground, in butters or milk...
Sep 20, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Saladino visits a unique collection of sourdough bread starters from around the world and explores a hidden world of grains, yeasts, bacteria and their influence on our health. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino
Sep 13, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast As MPs return to Westminster after the summer recess, The Food Programme catches up with three of the newer recruits to discuss future food policies. Sheila Dillon meets Dr Simon Opher MP (Labour), Aphra Brandreth MP (Conservative) and Sarah Dyke MP (Liberal Democrat) at the head office and kitchens of catering firm Social Pantry, who work with ex-prisoners on their zero-waste food offering. The questions come from some familiar voices to The Food Programme, including Dr Chris Van Tulleken, Asma...
Sep 06, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Food waste isn't a new story. So why cover it again? Well, in the UK, we are still wasting over 10 million tonnes of food a year. That's food that could have been sold, eaten, cooked and enjoyed. Clearly this is a problem that isn't going away. But crucially, we have a new government who have said that a zero waste economy is one of their top priorities for the environment. What will this mean for food waste? And is it individuals, or businesses, who can really make a difference? In this program...
Aug 30, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Food, identity, myths and reality. In a globalised world can a dish reflect who we are and where we live? Dan Saladino explores fascinating stories of food, music and tradition in an ever changing and fast moving world. Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
Aug 25, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sheila Dillon hears why some clinicians and researchers want the condition 'Ultra-Processed Food Addiction' to be recognised by groups such as The World Health Organisation. Earlier this year, Dr Jen Unwin (clinical psychologist) and some like-minded international colleagues, including Dr Chris Van Tulleken (scientist, author and broadcaster), came together in London to discuss why they believe Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF), as defined by the NOVA Food Classification system, are the most problemat...
Aug 16, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Finland has once again topped the ranking for the happiest country in the world. But what has food got to do with it? In this programme, Sheila Dillon finds out whether what they eat, their food culture and unique food policies are helping Finns feel happy. What we could we learn from this enterprising Nordic nation? And what challenges are they still facing? In Helsinki, Sheila visits restaurateur and ‘happiness hacker’ Luka Balac, who in his spare time takes tourists through a day in the life ...
Aug 09, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jaega Wise and Robbie Armstrong explore the exponential growth of celebrity-backed drinks brands. She asks why so many stars want a piece of this rapidly growing pie, and charts the rise of everything from A-Lister tequilas and rums to supermarket shelves stacked with celeb-branded wines. Jaega heads to one of UK’s biggest drinks events of the year, Dr Dre and Snoop’s Gin & Juice launch, where she speaks to Shaquille O’Neal, Yungblud, Ella Eyre and Yasiin Bey on the star-studded red carpet. ...
Aug 02, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast A meeting with top chef Hélène Darroze at Mayfair's Connaught Hotel leads Sheila Dillon to ask the question, why aren't there more female Michelin starred chefs? Statistics from the Office for National Statistics suggest 37% of all chefs working in the UK are female, but when you look at the numbers leading Michelin starred restaurants, the number drops to around 8% (according to analysis by Chefs Pencil, 2022). Includes interviews with Nigerian-born chef Adejoké Bakare, who in February, became ...
Jul 26, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the summer holidays kick off and people plan for journeys far and near, Sheila explores what food is provided on trains and at train stations across the country. A new report by the Office for Road and Rail suggests passengers pay around 10 per cent more for food inside stations, where catering leases often roll over automatically with limited opportunities for new food businesses to enter the market. Sheila finds out who the biggest players are in rail food and speaks to a range of people fr...
Jul 19, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast As part of Just One Thing Day on Radio 4, Sheila Dillon looks back at Dr Michael Mosley's legacy and comes up with 5 reasons why he mattered in getting us all to understand why eating better leads to living better. Through listening to the Just One Thing archive, and some of The Food Programme archive, we can see how his "just one things" were connected to much bigger things, and how he was able to show us, through examining the evidence for that thing, and trialling it on willing members of the...
Jul 12, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Saunas, pickled food.. even Nokia phones. But do you associate Finland with the future of food? Sheila Dillon visits the new factory making microbial protein out of hydrogen, oxygen and various minerals. Solar Foods, in Finland, is the latest frontier in the commercial lab-grown food sector; their invention, Solein, is a novel food ingredient that can replace animal products like milk, eggs and meat. Rather than using animal cells as a starting point, their process uses electrolysis to separate ...
Jul 08, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Leyla Kazim and Robbie Armstrong explore the rise of a new wave of British bakeries, whose viral viennoiseries are leading to snaking queues and sell outs, feeding an insatiable appetite across the country, fuelled by social media. Author of ‘Britain’s Best Bakeries’, Milly Kenny-Ryder, takes Leyla to London’s TOAD bakery, whose long lines have become a rite of passage for pastry lovers. Owners Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello explain how their local bakery accidentally became a hyped internet...
Jun 28, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
