The objective of the task force is to critically appraise and disseminate scientific in formation on the nutritional needs of vulnerable groups such as infants, children, elderly, pregnant and lactating women and immigrants and, where information is lacking, take a more general perspective on the whole population. The task force will focus on nutrient requirements, taking into account interactions of nutrients, (epi) genetics and population differences, upper limits of nutrients and intake/status of nutrients (to scope the problem and come to requirements).

 

EFSA is currently reviewing and updating the European Dietary Reference Values (former Population Reference Intakes, Scientific Committee for Food, 1993) for energy, macro- and micronutrients, in order to ensure that European Commission’s action and policies in the area of nutrition are underpinned by the latest scientific advice. The work of the task force will provide state-of-the-art scientific evidence on how nutrients intake affects nutrients status and related health outcomes, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of the rationale behind nutrient recommendations.

 

 

Micronutrient recommendations consist in the amount judged necessary to avoid deficiency in virtually all individuals within a population group. Most European countries have set their own recommendations. However, there is currently no standard approach for deriving micronutrient recommendations, and large differences exist across Europe, causing confusion among consumers, food producers and policy-makers. Harmonisation is needed to align nutrition policy and public health strategies.

 

 

 

More information can be found on www.eurreca.org and under the Section ‘Projects Funded by the European Commission’.

 

 

The first year of life is a period of very rapid growth. Appropriate nutrition is essential during this period: infants that do not receive sufficient calories, vitamins, and minerals will not sustain their expected growth and development. Carbohydrates, primarily lactose, are the principal source of dietary energy in this period of life.

 

This activity thoroughly reviewed the role and suggested requirements of digestible carbohydrates in toddlers and infants diet. A number of factors limit the ability to obtain an overall picture of carbohydrate intakes and food sources in this age group. These include small numbers of intake studies, differing approaches to analysing carbohydrate, a variety of terms used to describe sugars intakes and a dearth of information about starch intakes. The effects of physiological factors and infants’ and toddlers’ metabolism were also considered. In addition, the role of digestible carbohydrates in the development of food preferences and in food choices has been investigated. Data suggest that sweet taste is preferred in infancy and later food choices. Finally, the consequences of excess/deficiency were reviewed. There are few established adverse consequences of high intakes of digestible carbohydrate for young children. The greatest evidence is for dental caries, although this is influenced by high intake frequency and poor oral hygiene. Evidence for detrimental effects on nutrient dilution, obesity, diabetes or cognition is limited. In infants minimum carbohydrate (mainly lactose) intake should be 40% of total energy, gradually increasing to 55% energy at the age of two.

 

The outcome of this project is a manuscript that has been accepted by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 

 

Vitamin K is essential for the functioning of several proteins involved in blood clotting, because it is needed for the post-translational modification of those proteins.

 

For decades, it was believed that this is the sole function of vitamin K, but more recently a number of other vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDPs) have been discovered. In addition to blood, they occur in a wide variety of tissues (e.g.: bone, dentin, vessel wall, neural tissue), body fluids (e.g. urine, semen, lung surfactant) and pathological structures (e.g.: renal stones, atherosclerothic plaques), and the regulation of the biological activity of these proteins depends on vitamin K intake.

 

Based on new biomarkers of vitamin K status, the majority of both children and adults are probably vitamin K insufficient. This may have a negative impact on bone and vascular health.

 

Although the Dietary Reference Value (DRV) of vitamin K is adequate to maintain normal blood clotting and thus avoid classical vitamin K deficiency symptoms, this may not be the case to reduce the risk for osteoporosis and atherocalcification. To reduce these risks, a separate DRV for vitamin K2 would be recommended.

When the Dietary Reference Value (DRV) is increased, the minimum enrichment levels in food products to claim ‘source of’ or ‘rich in’ vitamin K are increased. Higher levels of vitamin K in food products could contribute to the prevention of sub-clinical vitamin K deficiency.

 

The main objectives of this new activity are to: 

 

The outcome of this project has been submitted for publication in British Journal of Nutrition. This Expert Group is a joint effort with the Addition of Nutrients Task Force that will also contribute to the transversal activity on marker validation.

 

 

• What are the current intakes of total dietary fibre in the EU diet? What are the intakes of specific types of fibre in Europe? Do they differ across age groups?
• What is the status of dietary fibre recommendations in Europe and worldwide? Do recommendations for different types of fibre exist?
• Is it possible to highlight gaps between current intake status vs. recommended?

 

The task force envisages starting new activities on the following topics: 

 

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