World Food Day: Zero Hidden Hunger EU combats micronutrient deficiencies with new policy lab

On the occasion of World Food Day, the Zero Hidden Hunger EU project introduces a new policy lab initiative to spark dialogue on micronutrient deficiencies. The project aims to estimate the prevalence of these deficiencies in the EU and their associated health costs.

The policy lab is led by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and aims to bring together European policymakers in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss solutions to address micronutrient deficiencies across Europe. Nutrition Insight speaks to experts working on the Zero Hidden Hunger EU project and an EPHA representative about their work and goals. 

“The lack of data on micronutrient deficiencies across Europe is the number one barrier to addressing the problem of hidden hunger, which is endemic in low-income countries but also widespread in Europe. Because we don’t have the data to quantify it, the Zero Hidden Hunger EU project is a key starting point,” say Mairead Kiely and Kevin Cashman, project coordinators and researchers at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. 

“We are focussing our efforts on using existing high-quality data resources and biobanks from diverse and representative population groups around Europe. We will use this data to generate an estimate of the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in Europe for the first time. This information will help us to develop food-based strategies for micronutrient deficiency prevention and health promotion for everyone, leaving no one behind.”

Alessandro Gallina, policy manager at EPHA, adds: “As we design policy recommendations in the policy lab, a fundamental aspect of our approach involves scrutinizing and addressing the commercial determinants of nutritional health, including marketing practices, food formulation and nutritional composition, price, product availability, sustainability of food production practices, food waste and more.”

Partnerships to collect and analyze data

The project, launched earlier this year, will run until 2028, and UCC is coordinating it. It secured €10 million (US$10.7 million) in funding in May.

UCC’s Kiely and Cashman explain that “Zero Hidden Hunger EU emphasizes the need for more standardized, harmonized and comprehensive data collection across Europe to achieve consistent, comparable and reliable data on food intake and status to track micronutrient deficiencies accurately.”

The lack of data on micronutrient deficiencies across Europe is the number one barrier to addressing the problem of hidden hunger.It also sets out to “leverage technology and digital tools to collect and analyze data more efficiently and facilitate the integration of other food-related data (e.g., food composition datasets) with health outcomes, allowing for better identification of at-risk populations and strategies to overcome deficiencies.”  

The project team tells us that it collaborates with partners, including national authorities, research institutions, industry and vulnerable populations, to contribute to data collection and share insights on micronutrient gaps, which can be critical for ensuring data consistency and reliability.

The partners are also developing harmonized approaches to micronutrient intake and status data collection and analysis, which aims to help bridge gaps in existing datasets, enable between-country comparisons and more effectively inform public health strategies.

Finally, the project focuses on training and capacity building to enhance the skills of those involved in collecting data, developing public health strategies, supporting patients, reformulating food products and ensuring that future interventions and data-gathering efforts are both accurate and sustainable.

Susceptible populations

Zero Hidden Hunger EU defines children, women of reproductive age and ethnic minorities as marginalized groups at a higher risk of micronutrient deficiencies in the EU. 

“People who are growing and developing, including children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, are at a greater risk of micronutrient deficiencies due to their higher nutritional requirements relative to their energy intake during these stages of life,” describe Kiely and Cashman.

“Women of reproductive age are also at risk due to well-established nutritional vulnerabilities linked to nutrient requirements and dietary practices. People from different ethnic groups and migrant communities can be nutritionally vulnerable either due to biological reasons or lack of food and nutrition security linked to social inequality.”

Discussing how to approach this vulnerability, Kiely and Cashman say that “determinants of hidden hunger are related to the food system, the food environment, diet and nutritional requirements.”

They assert that people living in poverty in Europe are likely to be at high risk of micronutrient malnutrition. These populations are also likely to be underrepresented in nutrition studies, from which the Zero Hidden Hunger EU project data will be drawn. The team is developing a modeling approach to offset this risk of underrepresentation in the data.

The researchers point out that marginalized groups often struggle to access healthy, nutrient-rich foods. “Economic constraints lead to diets that are higher in cheap, energy-dense, but nutrient-poor products, increasing the risk of deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.”

“Disparities in healthcare access and education mean that these populations are less likely to receive, or be able to access, necessary nutritional guidance needed to prevent deficiencies, especially during critical life stages like pregnancy and early childhood,” they continue.

They tell us that the project is  “carefully considering representation in the policy labs and carrying out new research in migrant groups in Greece and Spain who are at highest risk.”

The policy lab sets out to scrutinize commercial determinants of nutritional health, such as marketing practices, formulation and availability.Calling for policy changes 

Alessandro Gallina, policy manager at EPHA, explains that the newly launched policy lab aims to tackle these issues through legislation.

“Evidence in the form of a policy review and data from the 30 months of the project’s research that serves as a foundation for the policy lab, which will incorporate lessons learned and leverage new perspectives through a co-creation process,” he highlights.

“Indeed, this approach includes not only the insights of policymakers and researchers who can translate project findings into practical recommendations, but also the voices of marginalized populations and vulnerable communities themselves, ensuring their needs and experiences directly inform policy development.”

Gallina argues that the policy lab will be vital in developing targeted policy recommendations that address the specific needs of vulnerable groups based on their life experiences. “These policies will focus on ensuring equitable access to micronutrient-rich foods, particularly for those in low-income settings or underserved communities.”

He provides three concrete examples of how the policy lab intends to proceed. One is the establishment of “Targeted Nutritional Programs” focused on designing and implementing nutritional support and education programs specifically tailored to the needs and cultural preferences of marginalized groups.

The policy lab will also take a collaborative approach to engage directly with representatives from marginalized and vulnerable communities, alongside healthcare providers and local NGOs, to ensure interventions are accessible and effective.

Concerning monitoring and evaluation, the policy lab will “suggest specific mechanisms to monitor the impact of these interventions on micronutrient status, allowing for timely adjustments to strategies to enhance their effectiveness,” Gallina concludes.