General principles for the collection of national food consumption data in the view of a pan-European dietary survey

Abstract

The availability of detailed, harmonised and high quality food consumption data at European level is a primary long term objective for EFSA which has been recognised as a top priority for collaboration with the EU Member States. This Guideline has been developed by the EFSA Expert Group on Food Consumption Data. It issues general principles to collect dietary information that can be used to estimate the nutrient intake and to assess exposure to biological agents and chemical substances considered by EFSA"s Scientific Panels. It is recommended that surveys cover two non-consecutive days and use the dietary record method for infants and children and the 24-hour recall method for adults. It is further recommended to use a food propensity questionnaire and that supplementary information, in particular on brand name, physical characteristics of the packaging, cooking procedures and other specific information, such as fortification should be collected. Detailed information on the use of nutritional supplements by respondents should also be covered as well as physical measures of the survey participants (weight and height) along with an estimate of their physical activity level.

Comparison of food consumption and nutrient intake assessed with three dietary assessment methods: results of the German National Nutrition Survey II

“…This is outweighed by the low memory effort, which is probably diminishing the influence of social desirability, and the low respondent burden. In this regard, the present results support the recommendation of the European Food Safety Authority [6,7] to apply multiple 24-h recalls for national nutrition surveys.…”

“…For several years, there have been efforts to harmonize the assessment of food consumption in Europe to allow international comparisons [4][5][6][7]. 24-h recalls and food records are currently most often used in populationbased dietary surveys in Europe [7][8][9] and were also applied in the German National Nutrition Survey (NVS) II.…”

Low-/No-Calorie Sweeteners: A Review of Global Intakes

“…While this study did not suggest a concern with respect to the ADI for sweeteners examined, additional data in more regions would be necessary to make any conclusions regarding exposure within this subgroup. In terms of gathering detailed food consumption data for a population group, for which none exists, Kroes et al [12] and EFSA [117] have reviewed the available data collections methods; the EFSA guidance document has made recommendations about dietary recall approaches for different cohorts. In countries where there are nationally representative food consumption data available, these should be combined with the best available concentration data to obtain estimates of exposure to sweeteners.…”

Salt Consumption in Latvian Population: A Pilot Study

“…In the first stage of sampling, a representative sample of Latvia’s general practices was established and stratified in six strata based on the location of the practice. In the second stage, individual participants were randomly selected from the patient register of every general practice and stratified in six strata based on age and sex [10]. …”