European Dietary Surveys: What's on the Menu?

This Special Issue focuses on dietary and nutrition surveys in Europe. Considerable progress has been made in harmonising the collection of food consumption data in Europe over the last decade. The European Commission and various national governments have supported the use of dietary surveys as part of regular monitoring and research projects. Guidance on the dietary survey methodology has been developed, enabling the achievement of comparable and harmonised studies across the continent, and thereby generating a common European food consumption database. While this is a basis for improving exposure assessments and ensuring more targeted risk management, food consumption data, alongside other studies focusing on the relationship between diet and health, are also important for assessing nutrient intake.

The aim of this Special Issue was to provide a space for high-quality research studies based on nationally representative dietary and nutrition surveys across Europe. We were particularly focused on the intake of foods, nutrients and other bioactive food constituents, as well as on understanding the parameters affecting this intake. Other priorities also included validation studies, country-to-country comparisons, and methodological improvements related to nutritional epidemiology. The Special Issue includes 13 papers from a variety of European countries that have conducted food consumption studies using methodologies constructed in line with the recommendations of the EU Menu.