Synthesis report No 3: Ethnic Groups and Foods in Europe

The term 'ethnic groups' can be used to refer to people of the same race or nationality with a 'long shared history and a distinct culture' (ESRC 2005). Membership of any ethnic group can be based on a combination of categories, including country of birth, nationality, language spoken at home, parents' country of birth in conjunction with country of birth, skin colour, national/geographic origin, racial group and religion (National Statistics 2003). 

Ethnic groups form a significant part of the population in European countries and the ethnic minority population in Europe is increasing. Inequalities in health status of many ethnic minority populations compared with the general population have been widely reported, together with differences between individual ethnic minority groups. Contributory factors might include genetic susceptibility and poor socioeconomic status as well as lifestyle factors, including diet. 

Information on dietary habits of ethnic groups and the composition of the food that they consume is important so that targeted dietary advice can be given to vulnerable groups. There is also interest in the composition of ethnic foods in terms of the presence of bioactive compounds with putative health benefits. 

In addition, the multicultural nature of European populations, together with increased travel and the globalisation of the food supply, has led to an increase in the consumption of ethnic-style foods by the mainstream population. The composition of these ethnic-style foods, referred to as 'modified ethnic foods' in this report (see definitions below), is therefore also of interest.

This report: 
● outlines some of the main ethnic groups in Europe, together with their size and significance; 
● describes the features of selected ethnic diets, in terms of foods consumed and traditional methods of cooking and preparation; 
● discusses the health status of ethnic groups; 
● summarises the market for modified ethnic foods; 
● discusses the availability of and need for food composition data on ethnic foods; 
● outlines work being undertaken on ethnic foods within the EuroFIR network.