Enhanced research infrastructures to advance food and health research in Europe
The EU is improving the health of citizens by promoting healthier lifestyles, food and nutrition. To better deal with health threats, challenges and risk factors, research is needed into how to design more effective strategies. However, food and health research is particularly challenging because it includes many fields and is a broad research area. Moreover, research in this field seems scattered and research capacity and comparable high quality data are still limited for various European countries. Thanks to EU funding, the EURO DISH (Study on the need for food and health research infrastructures in Europe) project evaluated the existing requirements for food and health research infrastructures (RIs) like facilities, resources and services that support European scientists in performing leading research. EURO DISH centred on four key building blocks of food and health research: determinants, intake, status and health. Work began by mapping the current state of food and health RIs. Project partners then identified gaps and needs for RIs on determinants of dietary behaviour, intake of foods and nutrients, status and functional markers of nutritional health as well as health and disease risk of food and nutrients. The EURO DISH team also identified key facilitators of and barriers to successful governance of EU-wide RIs. This contributed to the design of successful EU-wide RIs for the food and health research domain, and an implementation roadmap. Outcomes led to recommendations for the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, policymakers and researchers. Overall, findings show that there is a need for an overarching RI that is specific for food, nutrition and health, and links existing RIs. EURO DISH will help policymakers and industry to increase the impact of food and health research and ultimately to improve the health of all Europeans.
Keywords
Research infrastructures, food and health research, EURO DISH
