Nutrition

Nutrition Requirements

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provides scientific advice on nutrient requirements to Member Countries and international bodies, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission. National and international agencies use this information for developing policies and programmes for actions to improve nutrition throughout the world. FAO activities on nutritional requirements include development of practical applications and tools for improving nutrition, such as nutrition labelling, training workshops and research related to nutrient requirements. 

UPCOMING: 2023 International Symposium on Dietary Protein for Human Health

Following on from the highly influential symposium held in 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand, the 2023 International Symposium on Dietary Protein for Human Health will provide an update and "forum for debate" on contemporary issues related to protein nutrition in human health and sustainable food protein production.

The three-day conference will be held from 14–16 September 2023 in Utrecht, Kingdom of the Netherlands, with options to join both in-person and virtually. Conference proceedings will be published in a leading open-access journal. 

The symposium is co-convened by FAO, the Riddet Institute and Wageningen University & Research in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

Registration

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Agenda

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Call for abstracts


The first committee on calorie (energy) requirements made a number of points which are still pertinent today. Among the most important were:

  • Requirements were intended for groups of persons rather than individuals, i.e., an average requirement can never be compared directly with an individual (requirement).
  • Judgement must be exercised in interpreting and using requirement values.
  • It is essential to address the practical applications of the requirements, a task assigned to the Secretariat.