Our Mission & Ethos
The Lizzie Vann Foundation
The Lizzie Vann Foundation, established in 2025, is the first UK based charity to focus on those additives and contaminants in food and drink which could damage the health and well-being of families, with a particular emphasis on children and pregnant women. The charity was established with funding from Lizzie Vann, a long-time campaigner and funder of work in this area.
Our Mission
Our Ethos
Our Funding
Conflict of Interest Statement
Lizzie Vann Foundation
Our Mission
- Provide easy to understand and timely evidence-based information and advice on additives and contaminants to empower families and caregivers to make good food, drink and lifestyle choices.
- Campaign for change.Provide summary reports on key issues relating to additives and contaminants in products consumed and used by families and make recommendations for local and national policy makers.
- Raise awareness: ensure that all those who support families know where to find accurate information about additives and contaminants in products they may consume or use and are encouraged to look for safer alternatives.
Lizzie Vann Foundation
Our Ethos
We fully support the Precautionary Principle as a guiding principle in decision making on the safety and use of additives and for controls on contaminants in food and drink. This principle was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1982 as part of the World Charter for Nature, and by the EU as a guiding principle in 2015. This ‘better safe than sorry’ approach means that if we are unsure about the safety or safe levels of an additive or ingredient in food that we err on the side of caution, even if scientific certainty is lacking. This is particularly important when the stakes are high, in particular for those substances that may damage the health of pregnant women and their babies and young children. The principle means we should take action to prevent potential harm, rather than waiting for conclusive scientific proof of the harm.Â
We believe the precautionary principle is fundamental to protecting the health of people and planet and whilst those making food standards do not always fully apply this principle we believe that there should be a proactive approach to risk assessment, particularly when there is no actual need for a substance to be present in the food supply. The precautionary principle shifts the burden of proof to those who propose to add substances to the food supply, or those who are responsible in some way for managing contamination of the food supply, rather than requiring those who raise concerns to prove harm.
In some areas of the world an alternative principle is used called Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS). This allows the use of substances in food based on a history of common use and generally requires the burden of proof of harm to be on regulators if they wish to investigate or those critical of the use of any substances. This method has allowed regulators to avoid pre-market approval for many food additives and ingredients and allows food companies to add new ingredients without pre-approval. The Foundation is critical of this approach and the dangers of regulators offering voluntary pathways to manufacturers and failing to pre-approve any new substances added to the food supply.
The Foundation also believes that all food ingredient or contamination safety evaluations should be wholly transparent with access available to all information that is used to assess food safety.
Lizzie Vann Foundation
Funding
The Lizzie Vann Foundation is funded directly by Lizzie Vann. In future the Foundation will apply for additional funds through independent research funders where this is in line with our conflict of interest statement.
Lizzie Vann Foundation
Conflict of Interest Statement
The Lizzie Vann Foundation works wholly independently of any funding or interest related to the food or drink industry, including companies that produce food and drink components, fertilizers, pesticides or any other chemical which can adversely impact on the food supply or environment. In addition the Foundation will not work with or take funds from any business involved in the production or sale of tobacco products or vapes, arms or any company that contravenes the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (and all subsequent WHA resolutions associated with this Code).
