Food composition data is important for stakeholders and users active in the areas of food, nutrition and health. Newchallenges related to the quality of food composition data reflect the dynamic changes in these areas while the emerging technologies create new opportunities. These challenges and the impact on food composition data for the Mediterranean region were reviewed during the NUTRIMAD 2018 congress of the Spanish Society for Community Nutrition. Data harmonization and standardization, data compilation and use, thesauri, food classification and description, and data exchange are some of the areas that require new approaches. Consistency in documentation, linking of information between datasets, food matching and capturing portion size information suggest the need for new automated tools. Research Infrastructures bring together key data and services. The delivery of sustainable networks and Research Infrastructures in food, nutrition and health will help to increase access to and effective use of food composition data. EuroFIR AISBL coordinates experts and national compilers and contributes to worldwide efforts aiming to produce and maintain high quality data and tools. A Mediterranean Network that shares high quality food composition data is vital for the development of ambitious common research and policy initiatives in support of the Mediterranean Diet. ; The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the many members of EuroFIR and RICHFIELDS project (funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation funding programme under grant agreement no. 654280) partners who contributed to the developments referred to in this article ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Background:Similar to Western Countries, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) also presents major public health issues associated with the increased consumption of sugar, fat (saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids), salt. Therefore, one of the policies of the World Health Organization's (WHO) EMRO is to reduce the intake of these, to address the risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. In order to do this, access to updated, standardized, harmonized food composition data (FCD) is essential. Aims: Objectives within this Medical Research Council GCRF project, working jointly with WHO–EMRO, are to assess the status of national FCD and to provide training and capacity development in the use of improved standardized methodologies to update FCD as well as dietary intake methods, use of suitable biomarkers of nutritional value and to determine health outcomes in the low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) of this region. By identifying specific regional needs for FCD compilation, detailed training workshops can be developed to enable the production of vital high-quality harmonised data in the EMR including: Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan together with Mauritania. This capacity building will lead to the development and sustainability of up-to-date national and regional FCD for use in dietary monitoring assessment in food and nutrient intakes. Methods: Training needs were identified, and short-term scientific missions organized for researchers via training, knowledge exchange workshops and short-term exchange of researchers. Training at CAPNUTRA (Serbia) and INNTA (Tunisia) included the use of improved standardized methodologies for food composition and food intake for 7 EMR countries leading to development of national FCD, enabling upload onto the EuroFIR data platform. A 3-week training course on analytical methods was carried out at INSA (Portugal) for analysts from Egypt, Jordan and Sudan. Key findings: A total of 45 participants from 13 countries including 10 EMR and 3 invited West African countries attended 5 workshops and training exchanges. Training topics included: value documentation and quality assessment; food composition data tools (Food Composition And System Environment (FoodCASE), Diet assess and Plan (DAP), Nutritics; food classification and description of composite dishes, recipe calculation approaches; use of yield and retention factors; EuroFIR e-learning tools and case studies; laboratory food analysis (vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D2, D3 and E, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, fibre); quality management system; food metrology principles; validation of chromatographic methods; and food label legislation. 6 countries have imported their FCD, as open access, into the EuroFIR FoodEXplorer platform. The WHO-EMRO jointly with MRC GCRF project funded and mobilized research institutions in over 10 countries, with more focus on identifying traditional dishes and micronutrients. Conclusions and project Implications: The use of improved standardized methodologies for food composition and dietary intake will produce robust measurements that will reinforce dietary monitoring and policy in LMIC. The capacity building from this project has led to searchable national food composition data from developing/emerging countries being made available in an open access form for the first time. WHO-EMRO, is funding further updates of FCD tables in Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Pakistan, Iran Egypt, and UAE, with the focus on identifying TFA, SFA, salt and sugar in addition to micronutrients. ; Project supported by Global Challenges Research Funds (UK) and Medical Research Council (MR/R019576/1), is grateful to WHO EMRO. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
INTRODUCTION: Worldwide dietary data for nutrition monitoring and surveillance are commonly derived from Food Balance Sheets (FBS) and Household Budget Surveys (HBS). OBJECTIVES: To identify and monitor dietary patterns in six countries surrounding the Black Sea (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) based on comparable data and to explore possible effects on mortality rates in the region. METHOD/DESIGN: In the context of the Sustainable exploitation of bioactive components from the Black Sea Area traditional foods (BaSeFood) project, food supply data from FBS, food availability data from HBS and age-standardised mortality rates from the WHO database were retrieved and analysed. RESULTS: Both food supply and availability data indicate plant-based dietary patterns in the area, with cereals and cereal products, fruits, vegetables and vegetable oils being mostly consumed. Nonetheless, the availability of staple plant foods decreased in years following political changes in the region. Due to religious and other cultural norms, pork meat is preferred in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine; poultry in Turkey; and, beef in the Russian Federation and Georgia. With respect to socio-economic inequalities, HBS data of the last decade clearly indicate the high dependence of diet on the participants' residential area, educational attainment and income. Mortality indices retrieved from the WHO databases show that diseases of the circulatory system are the main cause of death in the region, with rates being substantially higher than the EU averages. CONCLUSIONS: The change in the regime, the economic crisis following the USSR dissolution in 1991 and the opening of the food market have largely affected the population dietary choices and mortality rates. Targeted public health nutrition policies encouraging the consumption of health promoting traditional foods particularly among individuals of low socio-economic status are in need in the region. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n.º 227118.
