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  • Original Article
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Prioritizing micronutrients for the purpose of reviewing their requirements: a protocol developed by EURRECA

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 64, pages S19–S30 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

The EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) Network of Excellence (http://www.eurreca.org) is working towards the development of aligned recommendations. A protocol was required to assign resources to those micronutrients for which recommendations are most in need of alignment.

Methods:

Three important ‘a priori’ criteria were the basis for ranking micronutrients: (A) the amount of new scientific evidence, particularly from randomized controlled trials; (B) the public health relevance of micronutrients; (C) variations in current micronutrient recommendations. A total of 28 micronutrients were included in the protocol, which was initially undertaken centrally by one person for each of the different population groups defined in EURRECA: infants, children and adolescents, adults, elderly, pregnant and lactating women, and low income and immigrant populations. The results were then reviewed and refined by EURRECA's population group experts. The rankings of the different population groups were combined to give an overall average ranking of micronutrients.

Results:

The 10 highest ranked micronutrients were vitamin D, iron, folate, vitamin B12, zinc, calcium, vitamin C, selenium, iodine and copper.

Conclusions:

Micronutrient recommendations should be regularly updated to reflect new scientific nutrition and public health evidence. The strategy of priority setting described in this paper will be a helpful procedure for policy makers and scientific advisory bodies.

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Figure 1
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Notes

  1. Please note that this applied at the beginning of 2008 when we started this study. Some countries, such as The Netherlands (http://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/en/publications/healthy-nutrition) and Belgium (https://portal.health.fgov.be/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/INTERNET_PG/HOMEPAGE_MENU/ABOUTUS1_MENU/INSTITUTIONSAPPARENTEES1_MENU/HOGEGEZONDHEIDSRAAD1_MENU/ADVIEZENENAANBEVELINGEN1_MENU/ADVIEZENENAANBEVELINGEN1_DOCS/HGR_8309_NL.PDF), published new recommendations for all micronutrients, or for a specific micronutrient, after 2005.

  2. 75% was chosen, as on an average the ANR (published together with the INL97,5 for adults and for a selection of micronutrients only) was 75% of the INL97,5.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all EURRECA members and partners who contributed directly or indirectly to this publication: Linda Harvey, Amelie Casgrain, Rachel Collins, Monique Raats, Lada Timotijevic, Garden Tabacchi, Maria Glibetic, Jasna Tepsic, Danijela Ristic Medic, Romana Novakovic, Joy Ngo, Blanca Român-Viňas and participants in the ILSI Europe Micronutrient Landscape. The studies reported herein have been carried out within the EURRECA Network of Excellence (http://www.eurreca.org), financially supported by the Commission of the European Communities, specific Research, Technology and Development (RTD) Programme Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, within the Sixth Framework Programme, contract no. 036196. This report does not necessarily reflect the Commission's views or its future policy in this area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    A E J M Cavelaars, E L Doets, R A M Dhonukshe-Rutten, P van 't Veer & C P G M de Groot

  2. Division of Metabolic Diseases and Nutritional Medicine, Dr von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

    M Hermoso & B Koletzko

  3. School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    S J Fairweather-Tait

  4. Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Serbia

    M Gurinović

  5. Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development Research Group, Escuela Universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    L A Moreno

  6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Luigi Sacco University Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    I Cetin

  7. ILSI Europe a.i.s.b.l., Brussels, Belgium

    C Matthys

  8. Ashwell Associates (Europe) Ltd, Ashwell, Hertfordshire, UK

    M Ashwell

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  1. A E J M Cavelaars
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Correspondence to A E J M Cavelaars.

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Competing interests

SJ Fairweather-Tait has received consulting fees from FSA SACN Working Group and EFSA NDA Panel and has received grant support from Kellogg's HarvestPlus, and BBsrc. The remaining authors have declared no financial interests.

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Cavelaars, A., Doets, E., Dhonukshe-Rutten, R. et al. Prioritizing micronutrients for the purpose of reviewing their requirements: a protocol developed by EURRECA. Eur J Clin Nutr 64 (Suppl 2), S19–S30 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.57

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