ORIGINAL ARTICLE New nutritional data on traditional foods for European food composition databases HS Costa 1 , E Vasilopoulou 2 , A Trichopoulou 2 and P Finglas 3 on behalf of the participants of the EuroFIR Traditional Foods Work Package 1 Departamento de Alimentac ¸a˜o e Nutric ¸a˜o, Instituto Nacional de Sau´de Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal; 2 Department of Hygiene Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece and 3 Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK Background/Objectives: There are many different cultures within Europe, each with its own distinct dietary habits. Traditional foods are the key elements that differentiate the dietary patterns of each country. Unfortunately, in most countries, there is little information on the nutritional composition of such foods. Therefore, there is a need to study traditional foods to preserve these elements of European culture and, if possible, enrich and improve dietary habits across the continent. The Traditional Foods work package within the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) project aimed to provide new nutritional data on traditional foods for use in national food composition tables. Subjects/Methods: A EuroFIR consensus-based method with standardised procedures was applied for the systematic study of traditional foods and recipes in selected European countries. Traditional foods were selected on the basis of the EuroFIR definition of the term ‘traditional food’ and prioritised according to specific criteria. From the prioritised list, the five traditional foods per country to be investigated were selected to represent a full course meal. Protocols with guidelines for the recording of traditional recipes, the collection, preparation and distribution of laboratory samples, as well as quality requirements for laboratory selection, were developed to establish a common approach for use by all countries for the acquisition of reliable data. Results: The traditional character of the selected foods has been documented and traditional recipes have been recorded. Chemical analyses to determine the nutritional composition of 55 traditional foods were performed and the data were evaluated and fully documented according to EuroFIR standards. Information on food description, the recipe, component identification, sampling plan, sample handling, analytical method and performance was collected for each of the 55 investigated traditional foods. Conclusions: This common methodology for the systematic study of traditional foods will enable countries to further investigate their traditional foods and to continue to update their national food composition databases and EuroFIR’s food databank system. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2010) 64, S73–S81; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2010.215 Keywords: EuroFIR; traditional foods; food composition databases; nutritional composition; value documentation Introduction Traditional foods constitute an important part of the culture, history, identity, heritage and local economy of a region or country and are key elements for the dietary patterns of each country. These foods are commonly perceived as foods that have been consumed locally or regionally for a long time and the methods of preparation of such foods have been passed from generation to generation (Trichopoulou et al., 2007). Specific eating habits and foods have an important role in the traditional habits of many cultures (Weichselbaum et al., 2009). Lifestyle changes are affecting eating habits across Europe and some traditional foods are at risk of disappearing. In most countries, there is currently a lack of information on the nutritional composition of traditional foods, and conse- quently there is a need to investigate, register and promote such foods. Food composition databases (FCDBs) that provide detailed and reliable information on the nutritional composition of foods are essential in a range of applications, including public health nutrition, clinical practice, research, the food industry, food consumption surveys, sports nutrition, nutrition educa- tion, as well as in the development and implementation of Correspondence: Dr HS Costa, Departamento de Alimentac ¸a ˜o e Nutric ¸a ˜o, Instituto Nacional de Sau ´de Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal. E-mail: helena.costa@insa.min-saude.pt European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2010) 64, S73–S81 & 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 0954-3007/10 www.nature.com/ejcn