Towards a CEN Standard on food data

Background/Objectives: A major goal of the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) Network of Excellence is to provide tools to overcome existing differences among member states and parties with respect to documentation and interchange of food composition data. Establishment of a common CEN (Comite Europeen de Normalisation/European Committee for Standardization) Standard on food data was regarded as an important goal, enabling unambiguous identification and description of food data and its quality in databases, for dissemination and interchange. Results: In 2008, the CEN Project Committee on Food Data (CEN/TC387) was established following preparatory work by a national Swedish technical committee involving stakeholders representing the Swedish EuroFIR partner (National Food Administration), food sector and consumers. TC387 is led by the Swedish CEN member Swedish Standards Institute. Nine national standardisation organisations are project members, with four other organisations being observers. During 2009, a so-called working draft standard was prepared on the basis of EuroFIR specifications, the Food & Beverage extension of the GS1 GDSN (Global Data Synchronisation Network) Trade Item standard specifications and on the basis of input from various national delegations. This formed the basis for an enquiry draft that was submitted to CEN in early 2010. A final, ratified Standard is expected to be published in 2012. Conclusions: The establishment of the CEN Project Committee was an important milestone for the EuroFIR Network of Excellence. Liaison with the GS1 initiative on food and beverage articles will enhance coverage and uptake of the future Standard, thus promoting access to and interchange of well-documented food information. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2010) 64, S49-S52; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2010.210