EFSA’s role
EFSA provides independent scientific advice on nutrient intake to EU risk managers and policy makers. Our advice provides an important evidence base to support nutrition policy, setting diet-related public health goals, and developing consumer information and education programs on healthy eating. Importantly, it is not our role to establish nutrition goals for populations or recommendations for individuals. Our scientific advice will support policy makers at national and EU level and the health professionals responsible for this work.
In 2005, the European Commission asked EFSA to review and update the dietary reference values for nutrients and energy intake established in 1993 by the Food Scientific Committee (EFSA’s predecessor). EFSA’s Panel on Nutritional Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel) laid the foundations for this challenge in its 2010 Scientific Opinion on General Principles for the Derivation and Application of DRVs. The NDA Panel completed this work in 2019, compiling a total of 34 scientific opinions recommending DRVs for water, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and energy, as well as 14 vitamins and 15 minerals.
In addition, our scientists provide advice on setting acceptable intake limits (ULs) for vitamins and minerals (UL Summary Report). These values represent her maximum daily intake of nutrients over a lifetime that are unlikely to cause adverse health effects in humans. The UL is also used as a reference in EFSA’s assessment of the safety of nutritional sources added to food supplements.
EFSA receives For this UL’s review requests and completed assessments for nutrients from the European Commission or Member States include infant vitamin D and dietary sugar. Reassessments of existing ULs for vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, beta carotene, iron, manganese, folic acid/folic acid, and selenium are expected to be completed after 2023.
