EFSA EUOpenFood project Deliverable D2.4 – Representativeness and quality of food composition and related data

Final report of the EUOpenFood project on ‘Representativeness and quality of food composition and related data’ provided a comprehensive evaluation of the quality and representativeness of national Food Composition Databases (FCDBs) from 16 European countries. The document demonstrated the value of harmonised food composition data for the development of the open-access EU Food Composition Database (EU FCDB). From a EuroFIR perspective, the work reinforced its central role in establishing common standards, supporting data interoperability, and strengthening collaboration between national compilers.

A major benefit for EuroFIR is the successful implementation of its standards across diverse national datasets. All participating countries aligned their data with EuroFIR thesauri, documentation systems and, where applicable, FoodExplorer or FoodCASE platforms, while integrating EFSA FoodEx2 coding. This harmonisation improves interoperability between databases, facilitates data exchange, and demonstrates that EuroFIR’s quality management framework provides a practical foundation for European food composition data integration. The project also highlighted the value of EuroFIR’s test platform, which enabled compilers to validate, review and improve their datasets before submission, reducing errors and ensuring consistent implementation of standards.

The quality assessment showed that all participating databases achieved high overall quality ratings (A or B), with an average of approximately 89% of nutrient values classified as high quality (A+B). Importantly, many improvements between project phases resulted from enhanced documentation, metadata completeness and transparency rather than new analytical data alone. This confirms that applying EuroFIR documentation standards can substantially improve the perceived quality and usability of existing datasets without requiring extensive new laboratory analyses.

For national food composition compilers, the project provided several practical benefits. The structured quality assessment framework allows compilers to benchmark their databases against harmonised European criteria, identify strengths and weaknesses, and prioritise future improvements. Standardised validation procedures, including logical consistency checks, controlled vocabularies and harmonised coding systems, improve data reliability while reducing inconsistencies across countries.

The representativeness assessment also offers valuable guidance. Although countries use different approaches, the project identified common best practices, including linking FCDBs with national dietary surveys, applying key food or prioritisation methodologies, incorporating market and branded food information, including traditional foods, and maintaining regular database updates. Sharing these approaches allows compilers to learn from one another while recognising national differences in dietary patterns, food supply and available resources.

The project further strengthened collaboration between national compilers. Throughout data preparation, validation and quality review, compilers worked closely with the EuroFIR team to resolve issues, improve documentation and harmonise methodologies. This collaborative process promotes knowledge exchange, encourages adoption of best practices and supports long-term consistency across European databases.

The report also identified common challenges affecting many national databases, including limited resources for analytical data generation, inconsistent coverage of branded foods and food supplements, varying update frequencies, and incomplete nutrient coverage. By documenting these shared issues, the report provides an evidence base for future investment and coordinated European action rather than isolated national solutions.

Overall, final EUOpenFood project report demonstrated that harmonised quality assessment, standardised documentation and shared methodologies significantly improve the consistency, comparability and interoperability of European food composition data. For EuroFIR, it validates decades of work developing common standards and reinforces its leadership in European food composition activities. For national compilers, it delivers practical tools, harmonised procedures, improved data quality, stronger collaboration and a clear roadmap for future database development, ultimately supporting more reliable dietary assessment, nutrition research and evidence-based public health policy across Europe.

Read the report here.