“What’s on the Menu in Europe” (EU Menu)
Pan-European food consumption survey
Synergisms with health related EU activities?
Liisa Valsta & Caroline Merten
Data Collection and Exposure Unit

DG SANCO Luxembourg
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DG SANCO Luxembourg
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Hazard
Identification
Hazard
Characterisation
Chemical or microbiological
Occurrence
Exposure
Assessment
Risk
Characterisation
DG SANCO Luxembourg
Food
Consumption
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Consumption data
Representative for EU
Capturing regional differences
Acute (at one meal) and chronic exposure
Vulnerable groups
Special diets
Pregnant women
Children
High consumers
Ethnic diets
Big eaters
“Unusual habits”
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Different types of information may be needed based on the different agents and chemical substances under evaluation.
In general:
• Foods consumed must be described, as much as possible, in detail.
• Composite foods and recipes must be disaggregated into their main components.
• Additional information e.g. cooking method, processing etc.
Tomatoes
White bread from wheat
Ham, pork
DG SANCO Luxembourg Cheese, Cheddar

What’s on the Menu in Europe? (EU
Menu)
Standardised, detailed consumption data at the individual level would benefit many:
 Food safety risk assessors improving predictive accuracy
 Food safety risk managers in making better targeted decisions, better legislation
 High quality risk communication for better consumer awareness
 In nutrition monitoring and public health policy development curbing life style diseases
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 Industry in reducing compliance costs with possibly less conservative estimates
 Consumers in providing appropriate protection
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In 2005 the Scientific Committee suggested the establishment of a harmonised food consumption database in the EU
It also recommended that EFSA should contribute to the development of a European framework for the harmonisation of food consumption data in the
EU and make these data publicly accessible
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• Concise European Food Consumption db (2008)
– data from 19 European countries
– data in 15 only main food categories (29 sub-categories)
– screening tool for preliminary exposure assessment
• Comprehensive database adults (2008-2010)
– most recent data from 20 Member States
– data for food described at the most disaggregate level available
– representative consumption at national level for adults
– detailed individual level by 24 h recall or dietary record
• Comprehensive database children
– most recent data from 13 Member States
– data for food described at the most disaggregate level available
– representative consumption at national level for children
– at detailed individual level by 24 h recall or dietary record
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• USA has a rolling program on dietary habits called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES) that started in the 1960s
• In recognition of a critical need for information about the nutrition of Canadians, a survey was undertaken during 2004
• The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), an ongoing international collaboration, examines the effects of policies and programs on health and nutritional status
• The annual National Nutrition Survey in Japan has played an important role by monitoring nutrition and health status of the Japanese since 1940s
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• Standardised methodology
• Sample selection
• Survey tool
• Recipe calculations
• Food frequency
• Data validation
• Data interpolation
Discussed and endorsed by the Expert group on food consumption data in mid October 2009
EFSA Guidance published on 18.12.2009
( www.efsa.europa.eu
/ EFSA Journal)
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Country
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Poland
Portugal
Organisation
University of Vienna, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Institute of Public Health
National Centre of Public Health Protection
State General Laboratory
National Institute of Public Health
National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
National Institute for Health Development
National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
Afssa - French Food Safety Authority
Max Rubner Institute
Hellenic Food Authority
Hungarian Food Safety Office
Food Safety Authority of Ireland
National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition
Food Centre of Food and Veterinary Service
National Nutritional Centre
OSQA – Food Security and Quality Office
Malta Standards Authority
National Food and Nutrition Institute
National Health Institute
Romania
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority
Ministry of Agriculture of Slovak Republic
National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia
University Computense de Madrid
Sweden Swedish National Food Administration - Nutrition Division
The Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)
United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (FSA)
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Activity completed by
Project preparation
Dietary survey in 5-7 countries x
Dietary survey in 5-7 countries x
Dietary survey in 5-7 countries x
Dietary survey in 5-7 countries x
Dietary survey in 5-7 countries x
(x= local preparatory/piloting phase in the Member States)
Countries selected in:
• different geographical areas to immediately have a good coverage of consumption patterns across Europe (macro areas to be identified)
• children and adults
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• Survey of 80,000 people in total
• All food and beverage consumption on 2 nonconsecutive days + FPQ allowing modelling of intake distributions
• Anthropometric measurements (e.g. measured w&h)
• In 27 Member States
• Using the EPIC soft software that has been developed and tested through the EU funded projects EFCOSUM and EFCOVAL and a FPQ approach tested in the IDAMES project
• Timeframe ~8-10 years including project planning and completion
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Cooperation with Member States
(national dietary surveys) and health related EU actions
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Harmonised approach
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