The Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) has issued guidance for writing and reviewing press releases. It is now available and an article about the guidelines has been published in the European Journal of Nutrition.

Having identified issues with the credibility and capability of human nutrition research, the FENS President is currently sponsoring an activity aimed at improving standards and assuring trust in the science of nutrition. This activity involves three working groups looking into concepts and methodologies; organisation, capabilities and funding; and external communication and public trust. Working Group 3, which is composed of 20 nutrition scientists from across Europe, has been charged with developing guidance to assure and promote stakeholder trust in nutrition science. The apparent lack of a standardised approach to disseminating nutrition research findings to key stakeholders such as clinicians and the general public has potentially contributed to a feeling of confusion and mistrust, thereby undermining the credibility of the science of nutrition. The Working Group identified a need to develop guidance for the communication of the findings of research in nutrition science to the public with a focus on accuracy of what is reported and on the language used.

The Working Group developed a handbook to support and guide nutrition scientists in improving the quality and clarity of press releases related to their work by detailing step-by-step guidance for writing and reviewing press releases.

There are also easy-to-use checklists for writing and reviewing a press release and a template for scoring a press release.

The handbook is free and available to download from the FENS website.

The FENS Working Groups will be holding symposia on this research during the 14th European Nutrition Conference in Belgrade, Serbia from 14 – 17 November 2023. Abstract submission is still open until 30 April 2023. Visit fens2023.org to submit an abstract or to register for the conference.