Synthesis report No. 1. The History of European Food Composition Databases

This first Synthesis Report gives a brief overview of the history of food composition databases in Europe. It outlines what food composition tables are and why they are needed and it describes key events in the development of food composition databases. Further, it provides examples to illustrate how requirements for food composition data have changed over time, using the UK food composition tables as an example. Finally, some of the products developed from food composition databases and how these have changed to reflect user requirements are discussed in this report.