Onion nutrition education program for health professionals and the food service industry (VN20002)

During the last five months, the project has achieved the following:

• Produced the Onion Health and Nutrition Report, summarising the latest research on onion nutrition and health, along with usage recommendations and innovative onion-based dishes for health professionals and chefs.
• Established a digital hub as a platform for delivering up-to-date onion nutrition research and food service assets, while continuously expanding a database of engaged health and food service professionals.
• Created a range of educational resources available for download from the digital hub, including patient resources focusing on weight management, gut health, diabetes management, heart health, and overall well-being, as well as culinary resources showcasing onion versatility and flavour profiles.
• Conducted three workshops with foodservice experts, chefs, and culinary professionals to highlight the versatility and nutritional benefits of onions. A fourth workshop is currently being planned.
• Participation in the upcoming General Practitioner conference with a trade exhibition space to engage with healthcare professionals and provide them with scientific information and resources on onions.
• Distributed five e-newsletters and three research alerts to the growing health professional and food service databases.
• Shared seven research updates on the Australian Onion Health and Nutrition digital hub, highlighting the latest developments in onion science.

During this reporting period, the following activities have been conducted:

• Produced the Onion Health and Nutrition Report which summarises the latest research on onion nutrition and health, including usage recommendations and dishes that hero onions in ways health professionals and chefs may not normally consider.
• Distributed three e-Newsletters to our health professionals database, three e-Newsletters to our Foodservice Professionals database, and two Research Alerts to the health and food service professionals databases.
• Posted five Research Updates on onion science, health, and nutrition on the digital hub
• Created a range of educational resources which are now available to download from the digital hub, this includes:

Patient resources:

• Onions for Weight Management
• Healthy weight 7-Day Meal Plan - featuring onions
• Onions for Gut Health
• Onions for Diabetes Management

Culinary resources:

• Onion Culinary Service
• Onion Versatility
• Onion Flavour Profiles

Project progress continues, the project team have:

Produced the Onion Health and Nutrition Report which summarises the latest research on onion nutrition and health, including usage recommendations and dishes that hero onions in ways health professionals and chefs may not normally consider

Established a digital hub to deliver the latest onion HCP nutrition research and food service assets

Commenced the establishment of a database of engaged health and food service professionals for an ongoing program of communication

Created a range of information resources which are now available for download from the digital hub, including:

• Onions for Weight Loss patient resource
• Healthy 7-Day Meal Plan, incorporating onions
• Onions for Culinary Service resource for food service professionals

Planning is currently underway on a series of events to engage target audiences, including Farm Tours, Conferences and Workshops, designed to deepen connection with these priority audiences.