1) EFSA provides scientific advice and risk assessment on food safety issues across the European Union. It has various scientific panels that evaluate topics like nutrition, food additives, and chemical contaminants. 2) EFSA's mandate in nutrition includes setting dietary reference values, providing advice on foods for specific groups like infants, reviewing nutrient sources, and evaluating health claims. Recent work includes advice on sodium levels and updating tolerable upper intake levels for vitamin D in infants. 3) The presentation highlighted EFSA's recent scientific opinion on introducing complementary foods to infants and included speakers discussing challenges setting sodium guidelines and EFSA's approach to reviewing vitamin D levels in infants.

1. EFSA‘s latest scientific
advice on infant nutrition
and sodium
Dr. Valeriu Curtui
Head of the Nutrition Unit
17 October 2019
13th European Nutrition conference
FENS 2019 | Malnutrition in an Obese World:
European Perspective

2. EFSA is
The reference body for risk assessment of food and feed in the
European Union. Its work covers the entire food chain – from
field to fork
One of the number of bodies that are responsible for food safety
in Europe

3. The Scientific Panels
Plant protection
GMO
Plant health
Animal health & welfare
Nutrition
Food Packaging
Animal feed
Biological hazards
Chemical contaminants
Food additives

4.  scientific advice and scientific
and technical support on
human nutrition in relation to
Community legislation and,
 at the request of the European
Commission, assistance
concerning communication on
nutritional issues within the
framework of the Community
health programme;
 NO recommendations to
consumers, safety policies and
legislation.
EFSA’s mandate in nutrition
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Dietary Reference Values
Foods for specific groups (infants)
Nutrient sources
Novel foods
Food fortification ‘Other substances’
Health claims

5.  Dietary reference values for sodium: challenges and opportunities
Prof. Androniki Naska
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Greece
Chair of the EFSA Working Group on Dietary Reference Values for minerals
 EFSA’S approach in updating the tolerable upper intake level of
vitamin D for infants
Prof. Monika Neuhäuser-Berthold
Justus Liebig University, Institute of Nutritional Science, Germany
Chair of the EFSA Working Group on Dietary Reference Values for vitamins
 Highlights on the EFSA Scientific Opinion on the appropriate age
range for introduction of complementary feeding in infants
Prof. Mary Fewtrell
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, United Kingdom
Member of the EFSA Working Group on Infant Nutrition
Programme of the session
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