Issue 23: February 2003

UNU/FNP to lead global
review of dietary standards

Cutberto Garza

UN University Food and Nutrition Programme (UNU/FNP) will lead a global review aimed at harmonizing nutrient-based dietary standards.

Programme coordinator Dr. Cutberto Garza said that governments recognize the importance of wholesome food supplies and regularly name expert groups to develop nutrient-based dietary standards.

"Unfortunately, unnecessary discrepancies arise among such efforts because there is no global consensus regarding approaches for the derivation of specific recommendations," he said.  "These discrepancies create problems for health, trade, and other national and international authorities."

The review committee, chaired by Dr. Janet King, of the US Department of Agriculture, will look for ways to resolve differences that arise in:

• setting national and international nutrition standards and public and clinical health objectives;
• designing national and international food policies; and
• enhancing the transparency of the application of national standards to trade and other regulatory and normative activities with economic, health, and safety implications.

"Resolution of these differences is most problematic for developing countries who most often sift through disparate recommendations without the infrastructures that are available to more developed economies," Garza said.

UNU/FNP will commission new research on how current approaches can be harmonized to serve as the core documentation for a jointly sponsored UNU/FAO/WHO consultation scheduled for next year.

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