Maldita.es’s Food and Science section has received the Federico Halpern Special Science Communication Award, presented by Fundación Occident as part of the eighth edition of the Jesús Serra Research Awards. The Federico Halpern Special Science Communication Award was established to recognise the work of journalists, science communicators and researchers who help make scientific knowledge about food, nutrition and health accessible to the public in a rigorous and understandable way.
The award has recognised Maldita.es’s section, coordinated by journalist Laura García Merino, in the traditional media category. In the new formats category, it has recognised dietitian-nutritionist and science communicator Aitor Sánchez, known for his project Mi dieta cojea.
Meanwhile, this year’s Jesús Serra Research Awards recognise Marc Liesa Roig in the basic research category and Mercedes Sotos-Prieto in the clinical research category for their respective work on type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular prevention.
The Jesús Serra Research Awards ceremony will take place on 18 November at 7:30 p.m. at Beatriz Madrid. Before the ceremony, at 6:00 p.m., the event Science or Belief: How to Navigate Food Disinformation will bring together Federico Halpern Special Science Communication Award winners Aitor Sánchez and Laura García Merino, alongside Jesús Román, president of the Fundación Alimentación Saludable and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid.
This year, the Federico Halpern Special Science Communication Award received 40 nominations, reflecting the interest in recognising the work of journalists, communicators and professionals who bring scientific evidence on food, nutrition and health to the public, according to the organisers. The winners were selected by a jury comprising professionals in scientific and health research and communication.
For the second edition of the Federico Halpern Special Science Communication Award, the jury comprised Graziella Almendral, president of the National Association of Health Journalists (ANIS); Gema Revuelta, president of the Spanish Association of Science Communication (AEC2); Pablo Pérez, scientific director of the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba (IMIBIC); Teresa Arnandis, science communicator and doctor in biomedicine and biochemistry; first-edition winners Laura Caorsi, Beatriz Robles and Cristina Sáez, who specialise in health, nutrition and science journalism; and Laura Halpern, president of Fundación Occident.
The award recognises the work of the Maldita.es team in combating disinformation about food, nutrition and health, and in making scientific knowledge accessible to the public in a rigorous, understandable and useful way.
Journalism, scientific evidence and citizen participation
Disinformation about food and health can influence people’s everyday decisions and make it harder for them to access reliable information. In response to this challenge, the Maldita.es Food and Science team verifies claims, debunks food myths, provides context for misleading content and explains what the available scientific evidence says about issues that affect everyday life.
Its work combines data journalism, fact-checking and science communication. Citizen participation is a central part of Maldita.es’s approach. Through channels such as its WhatsApp chatbot and social media, the organisation receives questions, suspicious content and concerns that help it identify what matters to its audience and which claims need to be fact-checked.
The Federico Halpern Award thus recognises an approach to science communication that combines journalistic rigour, active listening, collaboration with experts and a commitment to public service. The award highlights the importance of science communication that does more than convey research findings: it helps people understand them and put them into context.
“In areas such as food and health, where contradictory recommendations, unfounded claims and promises that do not match the available evidence circulate widely, explaining what is known—and what is not—is essential,” says Laura García Merino.
Alongside its regular content, the team takes part in initiatives that extend this work to other areas of the food system. These include Maldita Agricultura, a project focused on agriculture, consumption and food, and Infoodmation, a European initiative aimed at combating food disinformation.