EURRECA-Framework for Aligning Micronutrient Recommendations.

There is currently no standard approach for deriving micronutrient recommendations, and large variations exist across Europe, causing confusion among consumers, food producers, and policy makers. More aligned information could influence dietary behaviors and potentially lead to a healthier population. Funded by the European Commission, EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) has developed methods and applications to guide Nutrient Recommendation Setting Bodies through the process of setting micronutrient reference values. The EURRECA approach is crystallized into its framework that outlines a standard process for deriving and using dietary reference values for micronutrients in a transparent, systematic, and scientific way. The 9 activities of the framework can be clustered into four stages (i) defining the problem, (ii) monitoring and evaluating, (iii) deriving dietary reference values, and (iv) using dietary reference values in policy making. The EURRECA framework should not be interpreted as a prescriptive description of a linear process, but as a structured guide for checking that all issues essential for deriving requirements have at least been considered.

EURRECA-Principles and future for deriving micronutrient recommendations.

The EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned (EURRECA) Network of Excellence (NoE) explored an approach for setting micronutrient recommendations, which would address the variation in recommendations across Europe. Therefore, a framework for deriving and using micronutrient Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) has been developed. This framework comprises four stages (defining the problem-monitoring and evaluating-deriving dietary reference values-using dietary reference values in policy making). The aim of the present paper is to use this framework to identify specific research gaps and needs related to (1) knowledge available on specific micronutrients (folate, iodine, iron, selenium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc) and (2) the methodology presented in the framework. Furthermore, the paper describes the different outputs that support the process like protocols, guidelines, systematic review databases, and peer-reviewed publications, as well as the principal routes of dissemination of these outputs to ensure their optimal uptake in policy, practice, and research collaborations. The importance of ensuring transparency in risk assessment and risk management, systematic searching the literature, and taking into account policy options is highlighted. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition for the following free supplemental files: Additional tables.].

EURRECA's approach for estimating micronutrient requirements.

In Europe, micronutrient dietary reference values have been established by (inter)national committees of experts and are used by public health policy decision-makers to monitor and assess the adequacy of diets within population groups. The approaches used to derive dietary reference values (including average requirements) vary considerably across countries, and so far no evidence-based reason has been identified for this variation. Nutrient requirements are traditionally based on the minimum amount of a nutrient needed by an individual to avoid deficiency, and is defined by the body's physiological needs. Alternatively the requirement can be defined as the intake at which health is optimal, including the prevention of chronic diet-related diseases. Both approaches are confronted with many challenges (e. g., bioavailability, inter and intra-individual variability). EURRECA has derived a transparent approach for the quantitative integration of evidence on Intake-Status-Health associations and/or Factorial approach (including bioavailability) estimates. To facilitate the derivation of dietary reference values, EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned (EURRECA) is developing a process flow chart to guide nutrient requirement-setting bodies through the process of setting dietary reference values, which aims to facilitate the scientific alignment of deriving these values.