The Capacity4Nutrition (C4N) initiative and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), EU Menu Methodology working meetings, organized by the Agricultural Scientific-Research Center, were held in Tbilisi.
The meeting aimed at supporting the national-level research on “Factual Nutrition” population, which is one of the key components for assessing risks in the area of food security.
Representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia, relevant state agencies, academic circles, international organizations, and other stakeholders in the field attended the meetings.
During the event, the roles and responsibilities of the main stakeholders, the objectives of the research, methodological approaches, necessary resources, and the stages of implementation of the EU Menu research were discussed. Participants heard information about best practices and experiences gained in EU Menu studies carried out in the European Union and Western Balkan countries.
One of the important parts of the working meeting was the refining of the project’s “roadmap” and the agreement on mechanisms for its implementation, including the distribution of responsibilities and the determination of cooperation between the agencies.
Representatives of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the Central Eastern European Food Capacity Development Network (CAPNUTRA) and made presentations at the meeting. Also, interactive group working sessions on research design, resource planning, and stakeholder engagement were held.
According to Levan Ujmajuridze, Director of the Agricultural Scientific and Research Center, the implementation of the EU Menu methodology in Georgia is an important step towards reliable data-based assessment of population nutrition status and evidence-based policy planning.
According to him, the Center will work actively in collaboration with international partners to bring research to high scientific standards.
According to the EFSA harmonized methodology, the study of “Factual Nutrition” of the population will produce a comparable, credible, and high-quality database, which is crucial both for assessing the risk of food safety and for effective planning of public health, nutrition, and nutrition policies.
