FAO and the World Health Organization have promoted the development of food-based dietary guidelines since the International Conference on Nutrition, held in 1992.

Following up to this first International Conference, many countries began developing and regularly updating their dietary guidelines, yet in the last years, this number has grown significantly, as a response to increased advocacy and contemporary nutritional challenges and changing environments.

The second International Conference on Nutrition, celebrated in 2014, ratified the importance and potential of FBDGs through its framework for action.

FAO has been working during the last two decades to support Member Countries in the development, implementation and revision of their guidelines. The current focus is on the one hand, to advocate for and assist countries in the development process within regions where FBDGs are still lacking; and on the other, to support the use of existing ones to effectively guide supply-side policies and measures, demand-side programmes and related training structures, in pursue of healthier diets.

FAO supports countries through capacity development, the organization of global/regional/national advocacy and expert meetings, the publication of guidance documents and the direct provision of technical assistance.