CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT IN FOOD AND NUTRITION RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE NUTRITIONAL TOOLS IN SERBIA AND BALKAN REGION
Research infrastructure (RI) and Capacity Development (CD) are prerequisite for harmonized public health nutrition (PHN) research and nutrition epidemiology (NE). CAPNUTRA in collaboration with different institutions and projects worked on development of food and health RI and CD in Europe and CEE/Balkan countries.
(Gurinovic, M., Milesevic, J., Zekovic, M., Kadvan, A., Ranic, M.. Capacity development in food and nutrition in central and Eastern Europe: A decade of achievements, Food Policy 96 (2020) 101850 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101850)
Gurinovic M Capacity development in CEE Food policy 2020 Final
Supplementary Material
• “DIET ASSESS & PLAN” ADVANCED -DAP-ADVANCED software web platform, developed as comprehensive tool for standardized and harmonized food composition data base development, food consumption collection, dietary intake assessment and nutrition planning designed according to the EuroFIR and EFSA standards. Tool allows inputs from standard food consumption questionnaires such as 24HDR, FFQ, Food Records and FPQ and enable comprehensive diet evaluation on individual and group level. Additional features of this tool are dietary planning, foods design/reformulation, food labeling. It was evaluated in EFSA project & implemented and validated in EFSA EU Menu methodology 6 surveys in the Balkan region (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia). Diet Assess Plan (DAP) advanced – online platform – computer program for harmonized collection of data on consumed food, analysis of dietary intake and nutrition planning with integrated food base, registered under number 2023/9640 A-0185/2023 at the Intellectual Property Office Serbia)
• Food Composition Data Management (FCDM) tool–present one part of the DAP as an online food data base management software harmonized to CEN Food Data Standard and EuroFIR guidelines; This web application is used for development of Serbian Food composition database/Regional FCDB and can be applied for creation of new FCDB
• Serbian Food composition database extended to Balkan FCDB including foods, recipes and dietary supplements. DAP embeds FCDB from Balkan countries with more than 2000 foods, recipes and dietary supplements. Harmonized with EuroFIR (Food and Component) standards; Documented food data following standards: identification, values, method, reference. Complies with EFSA’s FoodEX2 Standards for Risk Assessment. Compiling recipes with calculation of yield and retention factors to change the amount and loss of minerals and vitamins. Multilingual (ENG, SR, B&H, NMK, HU, AL) https://dap-app.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.01.107
• Balkan Food Platform – initiated during EuroFIR-Nexus project, consist of tools, members and it’s activities on capacity development in food and nutrition research specific for the region of West Balkan and CEE countries
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MenuLabel & NutraLabel – cloud-based digital tools ,service – allows foods design/reformulation, nutritional claim and food labeling. MenuLabel is tailored for restaurants and catering services, whereas NutraLabel targets food producers managing complex, multi-ingredient products.
• Food Atlas – Tool for portion size estimation in food consumption surveys. CAPNUTRA team has developed and validated the Food atlas of the most frequently consumed foods and dishes in the Balkan region with the aim at improving precision of portion size estimation in food consumption surveys. A list of 146 foods, dishes and utensils was carefully created based on previously conducted food consumption surveys in the region. The scientific publication that summarizes all details related to the development and validation of this tool can be accessed here. Considering the importance of this tool for the nutrition research community, CAPNUTRA grants a free access to the integral version of Food atlas (in Serbian) which can be downloaded here.