EFAD Newsflash

Analysing professionals' perceptions of processed foods

Acknowledging the need for interdisciplinary dialogue between stakeholders, and following the Processed Foods Symposium in 2020, the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) hosted a Stakeholder Workshop on Processed Foods in February 2021. Teresa Rodrigues from EFAD European Specialist Dietetic Network (ESDN) Public Health participated, along with 26 other stakeholders from the fields of nutrition, food technology, policy making, industry and civil society.

This workshop was conceived as a research study, which was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Nutrition “Even we are confused”: A thematic analysis of professionals' perceptions of processed foods and challenges for communication”.

EUFIC has now published a press release highlighting the need for greater interdisciplinary collaboration to seek consensus on the scope of processing, the degree of processing, and the aspects used to assess the wholesomeness of processed food.

 Read it here.

• Haris Dimosthenopoulos (Greece), the lead of our network, resigned in February. Since May, Daniela Wewerka-Kreimel is the interim lead of ESDN Diabetes. Daniela is a dietitian and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in St. Pölten (Austria).
• We are also looking for new members and would be happy if this message was spread through your networks.

• In the April issue of Kompass Nutrition & Dietetics we published our Report on the Project 'Comparison of European Guidelines for Nutritional Recommendations and Intervention in Type 2 Diabetes'.
• In June we were able to present our project at DNSG 2022 (39th International Symposium on Diabetes and Nutrition) in Greece.
• We are currently working on the revision of the EFAD ESDN Diabetes Statement Paper on the Role of the Dietitian in the Prevention and Management of Gestational and Type 2 Diabetes.
• We are planning a webinar on sport and type 1 diabetes later this year, with specialist Marina Armellini (Italy).
• Alyson Hill (Northern Ireland) is part of the Committee for the Congress Program 2022 in Budapest.
• We are currently determining the need for the development of a student workbook on diabetes topics, e.g. diabetes and pregnancy. This could be used for internship preparation or to bring together knowledge taught in many modules.

Online public consultation: draft guideline on use of non-sugar sweeteners

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued recommendations to limit free sugars intake, and various actions are being taken to reduce consumption of free sugars as part of global efforts to address the epidemic of obesity and associated disease. 

WHO is inviting all relevant stakeholders to comment on the draft guideline via an online public consultation by 14 August.

 Have your say.

Using science and technology to help STOP childhood obesity: new policy briefs available

The EU project STOP (Science and Technology in childhood Obesity Policy) has published five policy briefs on the following topics:

• Behavioural insights to children's diets
• School food environments
• Food reformulation
• Physical activity in schools
• Inequalities in obesity treatment

European soft drinks sector achieves 17.7% reduction in average added sugars since 2015

Just a year after releasing ambitious new health and nutrition commitments, the Union of European Soft Drinks Associations announced that the European soft drinks sector has delivered a further 3.6% reduction in average added sugars between 2019 and 2021. 

This new sugar reduction milestone is part of the sector’s most recent commitment to reduce average added sugars in its beverages by another 10% in the EU27 and the UK between 2019 and 2025, under the umbrella of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and its Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices.

This means that Europe’s soft drinks sector has already achieved a 17.7% reduction in average added sugars since 2015.

 Read the full story.

Cannabidiol novel food evaluations on hold pending new data

European Food Safety Authority scientists cannot currently establish the safety of cannabidiol (CBD) as a novel food due to data gaps and uncertainties about potential hazards related to CBD intake.

The European Commission has determined that cannabidiol (CBD) can be considered as a novel food (NF), and currently, 19 applications are under assessment at EFSA. While assessing these, it has become clear that there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed before a conclusion on the safety of CBD can be reached. 

 Find out more.

Did you miss the EFSA: ONE Conference 2022?

The ONE Conference has come to an end and It’s now time for action. Let’s make One Health the stepping stone to sustainable food! If you didn't make it - you can find a summary, video footage, and photos on the dedicated webpage of the event.

 Find out more.