Maintaining national food databases to enhance precision: A report from the preconference workshop 1 of the 2025 international diet and activity methods conference, Toronto, Canada, April 27, 2025
Biltoft-Jensen, Anja Pia Christensen, Tue Poulsen, Anders Sobolewski, Renee Nogueira Bezerra, Ilana Marchioni, Dirce Maria Bistriche Giuntini, Eliana Matsumoto, Mai Takimoto, Hidemi Nakamura, Mieko
Biltoft-Jensen, Anja Pia
Christensen, Tue
Poulsen, Anders
Sobolewski, Renee
Nogueira Bezerra, Ilana
Marchioni, Dirce Maria
Bistriche Giuntini, Eliana
Matsumoto, Mai
Takimoto, Hidemi
Nakamura, Mieko
Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Article
Language
en
Date of publication
2026-02-04
Year of publication
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
Maintaining national food databases to enhance precision: A report from the preconference workshop 1 of the 2025 international diet and activity methods conference, Toronto, Canada, April 27, 2025
Translated Title
Published in
J Food Compos Anal 2026; 151:108970
Abstract
National food composition databases are essential for data quality and reliability in dietary monitoring, nutrition research, and policy. Nevertheless, they face growing challenges from rapidly evolving food markets, new data demands, and limited analytical resources. This paper summarizes outcomes of a preconference workshop at ICDAM 2025 that brought together experts from seven countries to share experiences in developing and maintaining databases. Presentations highlighted strategies to keep databases fit for purpose, including standardized and harmonized food descriptions, inclusion of biodiversity and regional foods; maintaining strong analytical anchors with continuous updates; systematic handling of missing values (recipe calculations, preparation factors, and imputation), and AI-based linking of branded with generic foods to address nutrient gaps and capture market changes. These developments also underline the value of food composition databases: supporting national dietary surveys, monitoring reformulation, informing front-of-pack labeling, and enabling evaluation of nutrition policies. Breakout discussions emphasized challenges such as resource constraints and reliance on secondary data, as well as demands for new data types beyond traditional nutrients, alongside opportunities in branded data, automation, FAIR data standards, and harmonization. The workshop concluded that sustained investment, modernized infrastructures, and collaborative governance are critical to ensure food composition databases remain robust, policy-relevant, and globally interoperable.