Nutrition in schools across Europe: a summary report of a meeting of European Nutrition Foundations, Madrid, April 2010

Abstract

To open up communication channels and to facilitate the sharing of nutrition-related information and best practice across Europe, a network of European Nutrition Foundations (ENFs) has recently been established. This initiative builds on long-established working relationships between individual foundations, some of which track back 40 or 50 years. The official launch took place at a meeting of the network in Madrid in April 2010 and was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the constituent ENFs. The preparative work that led to the establishment of the network had picked up pace 18 months previously after a meeting initiated and hosted by the Italian Nutrition Foundation in Milan in November 2008, attended by foundations based in Italy, France, Switzerland, and the UK. This exploratory meeting was followed by a meeting in June 2009 in London, hosted by the British Nutrition Foundation, attended by eight ENFs. Interest has continued to grow, and the network already has ten members: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK; more are expected to join. The remits of the individual foundations vary as summarised later in this article, but communication of nutrition information is a common theme. The ambition of the network is to share best practice, to provide a forum in which collaborative work can be fostered and to add value to the work of individual foundations. To support these aims, work is underway to identify opportunities to obtain funding for pan European initiatives. A first grant has been secured by the British Nutrition Foundation for a project known as the European Food Framework (http://www.europeanfoodframework.eu), in which experts in nutrition and education from a number of European countries are collaborating to establish a framework covering various competences for young people at different age/progression levels. The theme of the Madrid meeting was Nutrition in Schools across Europe, with each of the members presenting the current situation in their countries, focusing on two aspects: (1) nutrition in the school curriculum and (2) regulations on foods and drinks provided in schools. Part of the Spanish contribution was delivered by Juan Ballasteros from the Spanish government's Food Safety and Nutrition Agency. This article provides a summary of the remit and work of each foundation and includes the proceedings from the meeting in Madrid. Created in 1974, the IFN is a platform for exchange and communication in nutrition science, a space where people from industry and scientists from the nutrition profession debate in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The discussions, based upon scientific and technical arguments, are open and independent. Through the work of the IFN, a network of multidisciplinary nutrition expertise is constituted. The IFN has three categories of members: stakeholders from industry (from 26 companies or inter-professional organisations), scientists, and associated members such as health professionals, teachers and consultants. The board of directors includes equal numbers of representatives from the food industry and from the scientific community. The IFN organises seminars and lectures, where various viewpoints are compared. 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