EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database
The Comprehensive Food Consumption Database is a dataset on food consumption across European Union (EU) populations.
What is the EFSA comp dataset?
The EFSA Comprehensive Food Consumption Database is a repository of information prepared by EFSA that contains detailed statistical data on acute and chronic food consumption for the EU countries.
The database includes information on consumption levels for over 1500 types of foods including regular and high consumption foods, allowing for a tailored estimation of individual consumers’ exposure to food-related hazards.
The statistics are available in different modes: they can be obtained for the total population or consumers only and in terms of grams per day (g/day) or grams per day per kilogram of body weight (g/kg bw per day).
To create the database, EFSA has used the data obtained from national dietary surveys provided by the Member States. The food intake data is available for a wide range of demographics: infants (2 surveys from 2 Member States), toddlers (8 surveys from 8 Member States), children (16 surveys from 14 Member States), adolescents (14 surveys from 12 Member States), adults (21 surveys from 20 Member States), elderly (9 surveys from 9 Member States) and very elderly (8 surveys from 8 Member States) for a total of 32 different dietary surveys carried out in 22 different Member States.
Availability in Creme Food and Creme Dietary Intake Intelligence Tool
- Available as a dashboard upon request
- Available in a model upon request
- Update frequency: Yearly
- Countries: Multiple EU Countries
- Age Range: 3 months - 74 years
- Release Date: 2021
Dietary Intake Intelligence Tool
Dietary Intake Intelligence Tool combines the latest dietary intake data with a versatile, simple to use data interrogation tool.
Efficiently find the answers you are looking for.
Datasets available in EFSA food consumption database
- EFSA Comp - EFSA Comprehensive Data Statistics for Modeling Food Group Intake and Exposure
Related questions about the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database
How do I download and access the EFSA Comp dataset?
The EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database can be accessed by visiting the official EFSA website. CSV files for the datasets can be downloaded for offline analysis.
How do companies use the EFSA Comp survey data for product development and reformulation?
EFSA mandates many foods and feed-related products towards a scientific assessment for safety before they can be authorized for the EU market. Any food and feed that uses additives, enzymes, flavorings and nutrient sources, as well as food contact materials, genetically modified organisms and preservatives, must comply with the EFSA guidelines for food safety. This is where the EFSA Comprehensive database comes to use for the food industry and producers.
Industries and organizations involved in food production and process development can use the dataset at three different levels:
- To review at the EU level/ national for products already on the market
- First-time evaluation for new products in development
- Re-evaluation of products due to expiry or any other evidence-based modification in production and/or processing
What is the EFSA DietEx tool?
EFSA has made an online tool called the Dietary Exposure (DietEx) tool that can be used to estimate chronic dietary exposure to substances present in the food. The substances against which the exposure risk can be analyzed can be either intentionally added or naturally present chemicals, contaminants, proteins and ingredients.
The exposure estimation by DietEx tool is based on the EFSA Comprehensive dataset in that it is estimated by multiplying the concentration levels input by the user with the respective consumption amount for each individual in the Comprehensive Database. Total exposure per day and per kg of the body weight are added to derive an estimate of the individual total exposure.
