EURRECA – A Network of Excellence to align European micronutrient recommendations

The approaches by which reference micronutrient intakes are derived, as well as the reference intakes themselves, vary considerably across countries. Harmonisation may improve nutrition policy and eventually public health. The Network of Excellence named EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned, http://www.eurreca.org), largely funded (2007–2011) by the European Union within the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, aims to develop and apply a framework for systematically setting and keeping up-to-date micronutrient recommendations. With its 34 partners in 17 countries, it supports the work of EFSA and of national and regional nutrition societies, and complements EuroFIR (http://www.eurofir.net). Through aligning the basis of micronutrient recommendations across Europe, EURRECA can contribute to nutrition policy and eventually to public health.