The pre-project
Since the first publication in 1980, NNR has been updated every 8-10 years. The leadership and organisation for updating the NNR has rotated among the health and food authorities in the Nordic countries. At a meeting in Reykjavik in September 2016, the Working Group on Food, Diet and Toxicology (NKMT) under the auspices of the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Food Issues (ÄK-FJLS Livsmedel) decided to update the fifth edition of NNR and invited the Norwegian Directorate of Health to take on the task of administratively organise a sixth edition of the NNR. The health and food authorities in the Nordic countries established the following working group to assist in the development of a project plan for the new edition:
Denmark: Ellen Trolle, Technical University Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Rikke Andersen, Technical University Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, and Lisa von Huth Smith, Danish Health Authority, Copenhagen
Finland: Sirpa Kurppa, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Heli Kuusipalo, Finish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Ursula Schwab, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, and Katja Borodulin, Age Institute, Helsinki
Iceland: Inga Þórsdóttir, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Þórhallur Ingi Halldórsson, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Gígja Gunnarsdóttir, Directorate of Health, Reykjavik, and Sigríður Lára Guðmundsdóttir, University of Iceland, Reykjavík
Norway: Rune Blomhoff (head of pre-project), University of Oslo, Oslo, Helle Margrete Meltzer, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, and Sigmund Anderssen, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo
Sweden: Hanna Eneroth, The Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala, Eva Warensjö Lemming, The Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala, and Marita Friberg, Public Health Agency, Stockholm
Based on funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers, the pre-project working group and the health and food authorities in the Nordic countries developed a project plan. In February 2018, the Norwegian Directorate of Health submitted the project plan to the Nordic Council of Ministers. Based on feedback from the Nordic Council of Ministers, an updated description of the project (NNR2023) was accepted and funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Fisheries, Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry (MR-FJLS).
The major milestones in the accepted project description were:
Update dietary reference values for energy, macro- and micronutrients
Develop an evidence-based platform for national food-based dietary guidelines
Develop an evidence-based platform for integration of environmental sustainability into food-based dietary guidelines
The inclusion of milestones 2 and 3 represents a substantial extension from previous editions of NNR which focused on updating dietary reference values for energy, macro- and micronutrients (milestone 1).