DIETARY GUIDELINES AND FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS IN DENMARK

In Denmark the official dietary guidelines and food recommendations are expressed in the Five Dietary Advices and the Danish food circle. Such guidelines are entirely different from recommendations on nutrient intakes, which are expressed in terms of exact values and established through a more formal procedure. Some of the most fundamental principles for food recommendations given to the public are that they are perceived as consistent and based on a firm consensus, and that their relevance and translation into practical action is obvious to the public. When the situation in Denmark is compared to these principles the main issue turns out to be neither lack of consistency in recommendations issued by government agencies and voluntary health organisations, nor is it lack of consensus among the experts about the fundamental messages of the guidelines. A more important problem is that the public does not distinguish between formal recommendations from authorized sources, and a variety of advices from other sources as well as non-formal comments from individual scientists. A cause of serious concern is the fact that the Danish public seems to lack a realistic picture of what the dietary guidelines imply in terms of foods. A number of contradictions is built into the process of communicating dietary recommendations effectively to the public. These can only be solved if the process is planned on a long-term basis.