Food composition

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Food composition databases are essential tools that provide detailed information about the nutrients and other components found in foods. They are crucial for nutrition assessment, food policy, and health-related research.

The current version of EFSA’s food composition database, established in 2013, host data for seven countries – Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Vitamins and minerals that are included are calcium, copper, cobalamin, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, thiamine, iron, selenium, vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin k and zinc.

These data supported the development of Dietary Reference Values (DRVs)– the complete set of nutrient recommendations and reference values, such as population reference intakes, the average requirement, adequate intake level and the lower threshold intake.

Since then, the landscape has evolved significantly, the food industry is constantly changing, with frequent reformulations and shifting market shares, meaning food composition data can quickly become outdated.

In response to these developments, EFSA is working on a project to develop and publish a comprehensive Open Access European Food Composition database (EU FCDB). All collected data will be submitted to EFSA and the open-access European Food Composition Database is expected to be published in mid-2026.

Food composition data