WSRO FAQ

The World Sugar Research Organisation (WSRO) is a knowledge hub for the science of sugars and health. We are a not-for-profit research organisation, funded through annual membership fees. Our mission is to improve worldwide understanding of sugar’s role in health and nutrition. 

We provide evidence-based, relevant scientific information and analysis on sugar's role in health and nutrition to our members and stakeholders. We do this by monitoring global scientific evidence, identifying where scientific consensus is, and where the gaps in scientific knowledge are. To fulfil this objective, we support a small programme of peer-reviewed, transparent research.

We commission and fund systematic reviews and research studies, through the provision of unrestricted research grants. These research projects are undertaken by scientists in established academic institutions across the globe and published Open Access in peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

We are a not-for-profit research organisation, funded through annual membership fees. 

Our global network brings together over 20 of the world’s leading sugar producers and associations from more than 35 countries. Click on the button below to find out more about our members. 

Our members

Our Board of Directors sets the strategic direction of the organisation. The Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from across our global membership and may consist of up to 20 Board Members. A full list of Directors can be found on Companies House (an executive agency of the British Government that maintains the UK's register of companies).

Our Members' Research Group supports WSRO by advising on the development of the Research Programme, helping to ensure that research addresses knowledge gaps on the topic of sugars on health. Our Research Group is comprised of representatives from our global membership of sugar producers and sugar associations, who hold academic qualifications in nutrition and/or dietetics.

The World Sugar Research Organisation (WSRO) was established in 1978 and is registered in the UK. 

A separate organisation, The Sugar Research Foundation (SRF), was created as a research division of what is now the US Sugar Association. The SRF supported projects at leading institutions and universities, initially in the US and later in the UK. The main areas of research were sugar technology, non-food applications and health aspects of sugar. In 1970, when Tate & Lyle, the British Sugar Corporation and the Belgian company, Raffinerie Tirlmontoise, joined the SRF, it became the International Sugar Research Foundation. In the 1970s, knowledge of sugar's role in nutrition and health became increasingly important. This led to the creation, in 1978, of the World Sugar Research Organisation (WSRO) which focused on the role of sugar in health. Its Members then included the US Sugar Association, the British Sugar Bureau, Tate & Lyle, the South African Sugar Association and a number of sugar companies in Canada, Europe and Latin-America.

Our activities support and contribute to the global understanding of sugars in the context of diet and health. We adhere to a set of Operating Principles to ensure integrity and transparency in our activities. These are based on:

• Consensus Principles for Public-Private Partnerships for Food and Nutrition Research (Alexander et al. 2015);
• Guiding Principles of the Updated Framework for Industry Funding of Food and Nutrition Research: Managing Financial Conflicts and Scientific Integrity (Larrick et al. 2022).

WSRO is dedicated to improving understanding of the role that dietary sugars play in human nutrition and health. Committed to transparent engagement with researchers and external partners, we support a small programme of peer-reviewed transparent research aimed at addressing knowledge gaps within the global scientific literature on sugars and health. 

We commission and fund systematic reviews and research studies, through the provision of unrestricted research grants. These research projects are undertaken by scientists in established academic institutions across the globe and published Open Access in peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

Research projects supported by the World Sugar Research Organisation are independently peer-reviewed according to the review process of the scientific journal in which they are published. It is a requirement of research projects in receipt of financial support from WSRO that they are published Open Access, in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Researchers receiving financial support from WSRO are contractually required to clearly declare this upon the scientific publications supported.

WSRO follows scientific review procedures to ensure that scientific documents disseminated by the organisation meet the same scientific quality standards as those published in scientific journals. External academic reviewers are acknowledged in the document for their expert contribution.

WSRO is a research organisation. We contribute scientistic knowledge and research to international, science-based public consultations where relevant to do so. WSRO does not advocate or lobby on scientific or policy issues.