EU micronutrient group highlights harmonisation priorities

28-Sep-2010 - Last updated on 29-Sep-2010 at 11:03 GMT

Vitamin D, iron and folate are amongst the nutrients most in need of an urgent daily intake review in order to harmonise European recommendations, according to a micronutrient body funded by the European Commission.

Set up four years ago, EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) is a network of scientists, industry, consumer groups and representatives from nutrient requirement setting bodies.

“The recommended daily allowance (RDA) has been used since 1992 as part of the European Commission’s recommendations,” said the group, adding that such research in micronutrients is used by both consumers and governments to make decisions affecting people’s health.

However, the group noted that nationally derived values can vary considerably across the EU “[EURRECA] was established to address these discrepancies,” it said.

“Variations in recommendations within Europe cause confusion among those who use them, such as policy makers, health professionals and the food industry. They are also confusing for consumers, who are now multicultural and more mobile.”

Prioritising nutrients

However, establishing recommendations requires a “robust scientific process” and often takes time, noted the group. As such, it has identified a three-pronged approach to prioritise the nutrients most in need of harmonisation:

There should have been a large amount of new evidence published since any previous review and this should be based on the best evidence available, especially randomised controlled human trials.
Nutrients which have high public health relevance should be looked at more urgently than others. This is where current intakes are considered inadequate either relative to recommended intakes or due to poor status, and the evidence demonstrates an association with a high burden of common conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer or osteoporosis.
Priority should be given to those nutrients whose current recommendations vary widely.

Using this approach, EURRECA evaluated a range of micronutrients across different population groups, including infants, children and adolescents, adults, pregnant and lactating women, elderly, people with low income and immigrants.

Its initial work identified 10 nutrients as being in most urgent need of review. These were: vitamin D, iron, folate, vitamin B12, zinc, calcium, vitamin C, selenium, iodine and copper.

Best practice tool kit

Moving forward, EURRECA will develop a ‘tool kit’ of ‘best practice’ guidance that will lead to a scientific base for assessing micronutrient requirements and for devising nutrient recommendations.

“EURRECA’s focus will be on the most vulnerable groups of the European population such as the older generation, pregnant and lactating women, children, those on low incomes and migrant populations.”

The group will consider both nutrition science advice as well as policy implications that take into account national, social, cultural and ethical differences.

A EURRECA session at the 2nd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition held in Porto, Portugal on 23-25 September 2010, aimed to illustrate the discrepancies and explain the observed variability in recommended intake levels of folate, vitamin B12, iron and zinc.

It also addressed the Health-Behaviour-Policy Framework, which describes a range of considerations –based on scientific advice about micronutrient requirements – that play a role in the decision-making processes about a policy instruments to adopt.

For more information on EURRECA’s work, click here.