The Food and Agriculture Organization food-composition initiative

Abstract

The 1992 International Conference on Nutrition, new legislation in developing countries, and international trade agreements have renewed interest in food-composition data. Because of the costs involved in gathering such information and the need for it to be uniform, collaborative efforts are required. The production of new food-composition data must be viewed with respect to value gained for money spent, the need for more precise information, and the opportunity to use new analytic methods while not depending too heavily on high-technology systems. The Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations University have agreed to collaborate in stimulating the development of new food-composition programs. Their efforts will be directed toward promoting national, regional, and international activities in the food-composition field and will include strengthening existing laboratory facilities and programs, publishing technical manuals and documents, assisting countries to disseminate data, training workers, and sponsoring regional workshops. The Food and Agriculture Organization is well positioned to fulfill this coordinating role because of its past work in food composition, international mandates regarding its activities, its established communication system with national governments, and its ability to provide open forums for discussion of food-composition issues.