Guidance on the EU Menu methodology

Abstract

The availability of detailed, harmonised and high-quality food consumption data for use in dietary exposure assessments is a long-term objective of EFSA. In 2009, the EFSA guidance on "General principles for the collection of national food consumption data in the view of a pan-European dietary survey" was published, and a pan-European food consumption survey, also known as the "EU Menu", was launched. Based on the 2009 EFSA guidance, two EU Menu feasibility pilot studies and two methodological projects, EFSA has updated the former guidance document to cover the EU Menu methodology and therefore facilitate the collection of more harmonised food consumption data from all European Union Member States by the year 2020. This guidance has been developed by the EFSA Evidence Management Unit (DATA) and the EU Menu Working Group with Advisory Function, and has been endorsed by the EFSA Network on Food Consumption Data. It provides recommendations for the collection of more harmonised food consumption data among the EU Member States for use in dietary exposure assessments of food-borne hazards and nutrient intake estimations under the remit of EFSA's scientific panels. Food consumption information should be collected for two non-consecutive days. The 24-hour food diary method, followed by a computer-assisted personal or telephone interview (CAPI/CATI), should be used to collect data from infants and children. For all other age groups, the 24-hour dietary recall CAPI/CATI method should be used. The reported foods should be described in accordance with the EFSA FoodEx2 food classification system. A short food propensity questionnaire should be used to collect information on the consumption of some less frequently eaten foods and the consumption frequencies of food supplements. Information on the weight, height and physical activity levels of participants should also be collected in the survey.

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. Because of decreasing response rates in national surveys, the burden for the participants should be kept at a minimum.…”

“…Because of decreasing response rates in national surveys, the burden for the participants should be kept at a minimum. Therefore, the current EFSA guideline for a pan-European dietary survey (EU Menu) states that food consumption information should be collected for two non-consecutive days by 24-h recalls for adults [7]. In addition, the diet history interview was applied in NVS II.…”

Identification of Requirements for Computer-Supported Matching of Food Consumption Data with Food Composition Data

“…EFSA recommends that food consumption data across Europe are collected by using the dietary record method for infants and children and the 24-h recall method for adults [1]. These methods use open-ended food sections, i.e., the food list is not a priori defined, in order to capture the most detailed food description so allowing for matching consumption data with food composition data [19,20].…”

“…Food consumption data are prerequisite for evaluating inadequacies in dietary intake of key nutrients and risks related to possible hazards in food, for allowing estimates of consumers’ exposure to such hazards by linking to chemical occurrence data [1]. Food composition data carry information about nutritionally relevant components of foods, and provide values for energy and nutrients including macronutrients, vitamins and minerals and other important food constituents [2,3].…”