Food Data Transparency Partnership
The Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) is a partnership to improve the environmental sustainability and healthiness of food and drink through better food data.
The Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) is a partnership between government, industry and experts. The FDTP aims to improve the availability, quality and comparability of data in the food supply chain to create a positive change in the food system towards the production and sale of more environmentally sustainable and healthier food and drink.
Programme groups
As part of an open policy design process, we have set up groups for engaging with different actors in the food and drink system, sharing and testing proposals as they develop.
The following groups will bring together industry and experts with government officials to develop policy proposals.
Eco Working Group
The Eco Working Group is developing the detail of proposals to measure and communicate carbon emissions and other environmental metrics in the food and drink system. This will enable the food and drink and farming sectors to decarbonise and reduce impacts on the natural environment.
The group is assisting government to achieve the following objectives. These are to:
- ensure GHG impact reporting for food and drink companies is consistent, accurate and fair, to enable the industry to reliably monitor progress and focus efforts towards net zero
- consider impact reporting for other environmental metrics beyond GHG emissions to support other positive efforts towards nature and the environment
- ensure consumer information including corporate claims and disclosures on the environmental impacts of food and drink is consistent, clear and accurate, including by building a process for product level comparison which enables consumers to make informed choices and avoids greenwashing
- enable government, civil society, investors, and the food industry to compare performance on environmental impacts consistently, fairly, and with clarity and to ensure good practice in determining and communicating outputs is adopted and recognised
- to effectively collaborate across government, the food and drink industry and wider experts, generating shared solutions to measuring and communicating environmental impacts
The group consists of around 20 members from industry and civil society with experience of working with sustainability and environmental issues in the agri-food supply chain.
It is co-chaired by Judith Batchelar OBE (food sector expert) and Karen Lepper (Deputy Director for Food Data Standards and Sustainability, Defra).
Members have been selected by the co-chairs based on their professional experience both as subject matter experts and practitioners.
View the .
Eco Working Group meeting summaries
Health Working Group
The Health Working Group has been created to consider metrics that support food and drink companies to voluntarily report on the healthiness of their sales in a consistent format.
Transparent and consistent data will incentivise and enable businesses to most effectively measure progress towards improving the healthiness of food and thereby supports efforts to drive the food system to be healthier. This is an important part of government’s strategy to address poor diet and reduce obesity.
The group consists of 15 industry members with expertise and experience from across all sectors of the food system.
It is co-chaired by Susan Barratt (Non-Executive for DHSC) and Natasha Burgon (Director of Health Improvement, DHSC).
Members have been selected by the co-chairs based on their professional experience both as subject matter experts and practitioners.
View the .
Health working group meeting summaries
Data Working Group
The Data Working Group considers the FDTP’s technical requirements. It provides advice on the technical feasibility and deliverability of FDTP policy proposals.
The group consists of data experts and is co-chaired by Anne Godfrey (CEO, GS1 UK) and Julie Pierce (Director of Information and Science, Food Standards Agency).
Members have been selected by the co-chairs based on their professional experience both as subject matter experts and practitioners.
View the .
Design Partnership Group
The Design Partnership Group focuses on the operational feasibility of FDTP policy proposals for different business models and sectors.
It consists of over 50 food and drink businesses and provides advice on policy proposals from an industry perspective.
The group is co-chaired by the Defra Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade and Chris Tyas (Chair, GS1 UK and Advisor to Defra).
Members of the Design Partnership Group have been selected to represent the broad range of food and drink industry organisations that will be affected by programme outputs.
View the .
Design Partnership Group meeting summaries
Food and Drink Sector Council
The Food and Drink Sector Council provides strategic advice to the partnership from an industry perspective. View more information about the Food and Drink Sector Council.
Wider engagement
The FDTP will also involve businesses and organisations including non-governmental organisations outside of these groups in policy development through an ongoing programme of engagement.
We welcome approaches from organisations or individuals with relevant expertise or insight to contribute to FDTP policy development.
Our papers
Terms of reference
Contact details
For the Defra team: FoodDataTransparencyPartnership@defra.gov.uk
For the DHSC team: FDTP@dhsc.gov.uk
Updates on the FDTP will be provided via the Defra Agri-Food Chain e-bulletin. Subscribe to the e-bulletin