1940 to 2002. McCance and Widdowson played a leading part in wartime rationing and 1940s government nutrition efforts. Research conducted by McCance led to the introduction of the National Loaf when he conducted research into the absorption and excretion of calcium and other nutrients, which led to a long series of metabolic studies. This research described the result, which shown that phytate in brown flour interfered with calcium absorption, which could be mitigated by adding calcium carbonate to the bread mix during preparation.. This led to legislation, which is still in effect today, which ensures that chalk is added to the bread mix, to ensure sufficient calcium uptake. After the war, in 1945 a personal chair was created for him and he became the first professor of experimental medicine in the UK. He was later the director of the Medical Research Council's infantile malnutrition unit in Kampala, Uganda. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1948, and appointed CBE in 1953. He died on 5 March 1993 in Cambridge. Awards and honours James Spence Gold Medal, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health References 1898 births 1993 deaths Food scientists People educated at St Bees School Royal Naval Air Service aviators Fellows of the Royal Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the James Spence Medal