November 2019: New edition of Dutch food composition database NEVO online
A new edition of Dutch food composition database NEVO is online. The 2019 edition contains nutrient data for over 2150 food items. Values for 133 components (proteins, fats, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals) are available. Compared to the previous version of NEVO-online (2016) more than 180 new food items were added. New foods were mainly selected based on data from the National Food Consumption Survey, which shows the foods most important for the Dutch food intake. A lot of foods previously in the NEVO database were updated. Foods no longer on the market, were removed from NEVO-online. Read more
More information and access to NEVO online is available on the NEVO-website.
October 2019: Life cycle data on the environmental impact of food products available online
To map the environmental impact of Dutch food consumption, insight is needed into the environmental impact of various foodstuffs. Using life cycle analysis (LCA), RIVM mapped out the environmental impact of many food products consumed for a set of environmental indicators: greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication of fresh and saltwater, acidification of the soil, land use and water consumption. Statline.rivm.nl contains tables with data on the life cycle from the cradle to the grave and from the cradle to distribution. These environmental data can be used for research in the field of sustainable eating patterns.
Read more.
October 2019: Primary schoolchildren’s lunch in the Netherlands
Dutch primary schoolchildren mostly consume bread, dairy products and sugary drinks at lunchtime. There are differences between consuming lunch at school and at home. Dairy drinks are more popular at home and sugary drinks at school. For all children, there is room for improvement, for example, consuming more fruit and vegetables. The study used data from the Dutch Food Consumption Survey and was carried out by researchers from the VU University in collaboration with Wageningen University and RIVM. Read more.
September 2019: article on development Dutch Wheel of Five
Cambridge Core Journal Public Health Nutrition has published an article by RIVM’s Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, in which the development of the Dutch dietary guidelines is described. For example, different target groups, food preferences and the impact on health and sustainability have been taken into account. These guidelines were incorporated in the so-called Wheel of Five, consisting of five segments each containing food groups that contribute to health benefits or that provide essential nutrients. The article 'Development of healthy and sustainable food-based dietary guidelines for the Netherlands' is available online.
17 September 2019: Dissertation Healthy and Sustainable Diets
On 17 September 2019, Sander Biesbroek obtained his PhD at Utrecht University on the thesis 'Healthy and Sustainable Diets: Finding co-benefits and trade-offs for the Netherlands'. Biesbroek investigated the relationship between diet-related environmental impact and health. Biesbroek was a PhD student at the RIVM Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Care.
Scenario analyses in which 35 grams of meat per day was replaced by vegetables, fruit or fish, among other things, were more environmentally friendly (up to 10% less greenhouse gas emissions) and healthier (up to 19% less risk of death). Better compliance with the Good Food Guidelines was also healthier and more sustainable. If meat prices were increased by 15% or 30% or the fruit and vegetable prices were reduced by 10%, this could result in several billion net benefits for 30 years.
The study used data from the EPIC-NL cohort study. 40,000 Dutch people from 1993-1997 were followed for 20 years. The environmental impact of diet was calculated using greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use, and health was measured according to Dutch dietary guidelines (RGV). Diet-related environmental impact was not associated with mortality risk. In 2015, participants ate relatively more fish and chicken, but similar amounts of red and processed meat. As a result, the diet became healthier, but not more environmentally friendly.
Health aspects have been central in current dietary guidelines. The study proposes several adjustments for the integration of environmental impact. That way, benefits can be achieved both for health and environmental impact.
This dissertation was part of the SusHealthFoods project and was financed by the Strategic Programme RIVM (SPR (Strategic Programme RIVM)).
July 2019: Article estimation of salt intake based on 24-hour urine collection
The sodium content in 24-hour urine collections is considered to be the gold standard for estimating salt intake. It is important to correct for differences from day-to-day. This can be done with repeated 24-hour urine collections in combination with a statistical correction for this variation. Groningen University Medical Center and RIVM have investigated whether a single 24-hour collection per person in combination with the day-to-day variation from another dataset is possible. In this way, the burden of repeated 24-hr urine collections can be reduced. The results show that borrowing day-to-day variation from another dataset is promising, however, a wrongly chosen variation can result in bias. It is preferred to estimate the day-to-day variation from repeated 24-hr collections from a sub-sample of the same dataset with further single collections. The article is available online.
27 February 2019: WHO Europe and Riga Stradins University Workshop
The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe) and Riga Stradins University came together with the Nordic Council of Ministers in a three-day workshop (February 27th-March 1, Riga, Latvia) with the aim of:
• Bringing together the project consortium to exchange existing knowledge and best practice
• Understand the priorities and needs of the Baltic Sea Region countries
• Perform a food systems mapping exercise to capture the range of actors and sectors that need to be involved.
All participants WHO meeting RIGA
The meeting started with setting the scene – why data, policy processes and stakeholder engagement are important to transform food systems. Then healthy and sustainable diets to inform policy processes were defined, followed by a presentation on Future perspectives: 'Adapting dietary guidelines to the 21st century' by Liesbeth Temme of the RIVM's WHO collaborating Centre of nutrition. The meeting continued with a situational analysis of the Baltic region context. Group work was carried out to understand the situation with regards to healthy and sustainable diets in participating countries. Groups discussed and exchanged views on what they consider to be (i) main needs, (ii) opportunities, and (iii) challenges in achieving sustainable food systems. They also identified the (iv) main stakeholders and (v) key trends and innovations influencing food systems.
18 January 2019: 24h Salt Survey training in Vilnius
RIVM's WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition expert Marieke Hendriksen was invited to join the 24h salt survey training in Vilnius, Lithuania. Around 30 participants from Lithuania, Georgia, Kosovo and Ukraine joined the meeting to learn more about setting up a 24h urine study to estimate salt and iodine intake in the population. Marieke Hendriksen presented the case study of the 24h collection in the Netherlands and discussed the challenges of such a study, together with prof. Franco Cappuccio of the WHO CC Nutrition of Warwick University.