Why does Europe needs more harmonised dietary monitoring

Reliable nutrition data are essential for effective food policies—but across Europe, important gaps remain. A new comparative assessment from the PLAN’EAT project examines how dietary intake collection, Food Composition Databases (FCDBs), and Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) currently operate in 11 European countries.

Using questionnaires completed by national partners and evidence from scientific and official sources (up to August 2025), the study reveals persistent inconsistencies in dietary assessment methods, portion size estimation, database structures, and guideline development. These differences limit cross-country comparability and weaken the evaluation of EU-wide nutrition policies.

The paper highlights priority actions: harmonising survey protocols, ensuring regular national dietary surveys, aligning guideline updates with real consumption patterns, and expanding sustainability-integrated diet modeling. Approaches used in France, Germany, and the Netherlands are identified as promising examples to scale.

Stronger EU coordination will be essential to build coherent, evidence-based nutrition policies that support healthier and more sustainable diets.

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