The DAFNE databank: the past and future of monitoring the dietary habits of Europeans

Aim. To develop a European, regularly updated databank of comparable food and sociodemographic information as a tool for monitoring trends in dietary habits in Europe. Materials and methods. Household budget survey (HBS) data on food availability at household level, as well as relevant demographic and socio-economic characteristics are forwarded to the Greek centre coordinating the Data Food Networking (DAFNE) initiative. Central combination and post-harmonisation of the raw HBS data are undertaken according to procedures developed in the DAFNE project. Results. The DAFNE data on mean food availability (g or ml/person per day) are integrated in DafneSoft (version 2.1), which is a software for the Microsoft Windows operating system allowing: (a) the presentation of dietary data in various formats (tables, bars, pie charts, map presentations) and at various levels of detail; (b) the follow-up of trends in food availability over time, within and between countries; (c) the study of the effect of the household's locality and of the education and occupation of the household head on the daily food choices; and (d) the export of data for further uses. Conclusion. The comparability of operational measures is crucial to the meaningful interpretation of comparisons among countries. This has been a key objective of the DAFNE initiative. A system allowing the regular update of the DAFNE database and the expansion of the network to embrace all European countries could provide a ready source of data for monitoring public health nutrition in Europe at reasonable cost.