In earlier editorials, I have highlighted my desire to increase the transparency of the British Journal of Nutrition, in order to foster an environment of openness, honesty and integrity and to follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics(1) and of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors(2). During 2008, I introduced a requirement for ‘conflict of interest’ statements from authors and for more complete descriptions of the contribution of each author to the publication(Reference Calder3). In addition to the guidelines for authors, the Committee on Publication Ethics and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors have issued guidelines for the conduct of reviewers, editorial boards and editors. The Committee on Publication Ethics states that journals should ‘publish lists of relevant interests (financial, academic and other kinds) of all editorial staff and members of editorial boards (which should be updated at least annually)’(4). A conflict of interest is where an author or a reviewer or an editor has an interest that is not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published. The interest may be personal, commercial, political, academic or financial. Financial interests may include employment, research funding, stock, share or patent ownership, consultancies, or payment for lectures, travel or advice. In order to become more compliant with the Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines, I plan to publish annual conflict of interest statements for myself and the Deputy Editors of the BJN.
Philip Calder, Editor in Chief, is employed by the University of Southampton. He serves on the Danone Scientific Advisory Board on Baby Nutrition, the Actimel Scientific Advisory Board, and the Syral Scientific Advisory Board. He served on the Global Advisory Board for Baxter Healthcare that met in 2008. He acts as a consultant to the Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition, and in the past 5 years he has acted as a consultant to Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Vifor Pharma, Equazen and Amarin Corporation. He has received speaking honoraria from Solvay Healthcare, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Pronova Biocare, Fresenius Kabi, B. Braun, Abbott Nutrition, Baxter Healthcare and Nestlé. He currently receives research funding from the Food Standards Agency, the European Commission, Beneo-Orafti, Vifor Pharma, Abbott Nutrition and Beghin-Meiji; in the recent past he has received research funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, Heart UK, Pronova Biocare and Unilever Corporate Research. He is elected President of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids, an organisation that is partly supported by corporate membership fees, mainly the food and supplements industries. He is currently, or has recently been, a member of four expert groups of ILSI Europe, chairing three of these; ILSI Europe is funded in part by the European food industry.
France Bellisle, Deputy Editor, is employed by the French National Institute of Agronomic Research. She serves on scientific advisory committees for Kellogg's, McDonalds and Coca-Cola. She is the scientific advisor for Weight Watchers in France. She has acted as consultant to Knorr. She has been a member of the Communication Committee of the Institut Français pour la Nutrition, an organisation that is partly supported by corporate membership fees. She participates in committees that attribute research awards from the Centre Evian pour l'Eau and the Institut Benjamin Delessert. Her research is supported by the Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Ile de France and the University of Paris 13. She has participated in projects funded by the European Commission.
David Jacobs, Deputy Editor, is employed by the University of Minnesota and is a regular guest professor at the University of Oslo. He is an unpaid consultant to the California Walnut Commission (Scientific Advisory Board). He is a paid statistical reviewer for the journal Circulation. He is funded by grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
John Wallace, Deputy Editor, is employed by the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen. He is a consultant for Enterprise Ireland. He sat on the review board of INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, is a member of the University College Dublin steering committee on methane emissions and is on the advisory board of the International Foundation for Science. His research is funded by the European Commission, the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and he has research collaborations with DSM, Alltech, Agolin and Novozymes.
Susan Whiting, Deputy Editor, is an employee of University of Saskatchewan. She is a member of the International Institute for Nutrition and Bone Health, an educational initiative sponsored by Yoplait. She is an unpaid consultant to Osteoporosis Canada. She has presented talks with sponsorship from Dairy Farmers of Canada, the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations, Amway International and the Vitamin D Society. She is funded by, or has recently received funding from, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Centrum Foundation and Dairy Farmers of Canada.
