General Article How the war changed nutrition: from there to now

Topic Selected: Food and Diet
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Nutrition knowledge today owes much to the work done during the war. From food survey to food rationing we learnt valuable lessons regarding nutritional requirements and how these could be provided to everyone in the population at a time when many foods were scarce.

Key nutrition dates

1940 - National Food Survey established 

1941 - Nutritional standards for school meals introduced

1942 - Mandatory fortification of margarine with vitamins A and D began

1944 - First Food Labelling Order

1944 - First Proceedings of the Nutrition Society published 

Ministry of Food (1939–1955)

The Ministry of Food was set up in 1939 to deal with the problem of providing a nutritionally adequate diet for people in Great Britain during the Second World War. It played an important role, being the first organisation responsible for a nutrition policy in the UK. The Ministry controlled all food supplies, food reserve stocks and distribution, and had local and regional committees to give expert information a...

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