Search for harmonized micronutrient recommendations goes public

EURRECA Network of Excellence launches public website to enable dialogue with specialists, the media and consumers

EURRECA, a network of scientists, nutrition societies, consumer organisations, small & medium-sized enterprises and wider stakeholders across the enlarged EU has launched its public website – www.eurreca.org – to raise awareness of its work and to engage key stakeholders.

EURRECA, funded by the EC, is helping to address the problem of national variations in micronutrient recommendations. As populations across Europe become more mobile and multi-national, and more traditional foods become available internationally, harmonised recommendations are needed, based on up-to-date science.

Individual countries in Europe convene expert panels and review their national guidance on recommendations for micronutrients at different times, which means they are not working with the same or most up-to-date scientific information. Relatively small and select groups of experts are usually involved in this process.

Additionally, different countries use different methods to determine their national requirements and different concepts to express these recommendations. For example, some nations group all adults together and provide one recommendation for all; others provide separate recommendations for men and women. Age groupings for babies and children also vary.

The result? Differing national recommendations and confusion for policy-makers, health professionals and consumers.

Folic acid is a good example of wide variation in recommendations in official guidance, due mainly in this instance to the fact that scientific knowledge on this micronutrient has increased dramatically in recent years.

The EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) Network of Excellence is working to provide a framework of advice on micronutrients to better inform policy-makers as they formulate precise recommendations.

Funded by the European Commission, the EURRECA Network is made up of 34 partners based in 17 countries, drawn not only from nutrition science but also from industry, consumer groups, national nutrition societies and the health professions.
EURRECA will be supporting the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the agency charged with developing European-wide recommendations for micronutrients. Close consultation has already been established between the two organisations with collaborative work to follow.

Visit www.eurreca.org to find out more and sign up to stay in touch.Notes to Editors:

1. "EURRECA - EURopean RECommendations Aligned - Network of Excellence" is funded by the European Commission (2007 - 2011), contract number FP6 036196-2 (FOOD) and is co-ordinated by ILSI Europe.
2. Micronutrients are essential nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly. They include vitamins, minerals and trace elements
3. In close collaboration with national authorities and in open consultation with its stakeholders, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides independent scientific advice at EU level on all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety, including animal health and welfare, plant protection and nutrition. EFSA’s scientific advice provides risk managers (i.e. European Commission, European Parliament and Member States) with a sound scientific basis for allowing them to take final legislative or regulatory decisions required to ensure a high level of consumer protection at EU level. See also http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en.html.
4. In 2005 the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection asked EFSA to review existing recommendations adopted in 1992 by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee for Food in order to establish nutrient based recommendations for energy and macronutrients (ongoing) as well as for micronutrients (to be initiated in 2008) for the European population.

For media information about the EURRECA Network of Excellence contact Rhonda Smith or Marc Catchpole on [phone] [e-mail]
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