Personalised nutritional advice empowers us to make sustained changes to our diet and overcome intractable diet-related diseases. However, we must trust the advice given. Current advisory products are not adequately backed up by scientific evidence and lack consumer trust.

The Food Databanks National Capability at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) is leading an international project to develop a digital platform that will enable effective delivery of scientifically-validated nutrition advice across Europe, giving everyone the confidence to make more informed diet choices.

“Policies must address the need for change at the individual level as well as modifications in society and the environment, to make healthier choices accessible and preferable” WHO Technical Report 916

The project

The goal of the EIT Food-funded project, Quisper®, is to put in place a digital platform that provides scientifically-validated nutrition data and services to organisations that can be used to create and deliver effective personalised nutrition services for consumers and patients across Europe.

To maximise outreach and trust, Quisper®, which involves partners that include Pepsico and the University of Munich, will be managed as a non-profit association and will be informed by a scientific advisory board.

In collaboration with the University of Reading, an improved version of the E-Nutri mobile app, which provides personalised dietary advice using individual preference, diet and lifestyle, will be integrated into the platform along with information such as data from national food composition databanks, dietary reference values, consumer-perceived food attributes and diet-quality scores.

Data, tools and technology from ‘Small to Moderate sized Enterprises’ (SMEs) will also be integrated into the platform, helping them achieve wider audiences for their products. It is anticipated that these companies may sell their improved services to parties such as insurance, public healthcare, hospitals, medical professionals, dieticians, nutritionists, wellness / fitness centres, employers and retailers that will provide information and services for the public and other businesses, such as app interface providers, household appliance industry, analytical laboratories, diagnostics industry and the medical appliance industry, which could profit from the services provided.

The Quisper® digital platform

Quisper® is the first scientifically validated, unified, digital platform combining multi-source data in a single interface to provide consumers and patients with more confidence and an increased range of services. The products that are supported by Quisper® will make it easier to make healthier and more sustainable diet choices.

The platform is now live and can be found here http://quisper.eu/

What is the cost of poor diet?

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) produced an assessment of the economic costs of unhealthy diets and low physical exercise in 2017. Looking specifically at diabetes attributed to unhealthy diets, the 2020 estimated healthcare costs in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK will be an average of €5,198 (£4,503*) per patient, with approximately 2,870 cases expected per country. The review also stated that the combined healthcare and productivity costs of diabetes attributed to unhealthy diets (predicted for 2020) would be an average of €47,516,749 (£41,159,018) per country. Improved diet would reduce the occurrence of diabetes and the associated cost burden.

*Currency conversion carried out on 24^th April 2019.

Summary

Quisper® offers a convenient one-stop shop where data, knowledge, tools and services, are validated and made available through a single interface. Quisper® offers opportunities for collaboration in addition to providing access to numerous tools that will inform and support commercial enterprise, innovation, nutritional health and wellbeing internationally. Although still under development, the platform is being structured to allow for both direct end user access and for development and data sharing by service providers.

“The promotion of a healthy and varied diet is a key lever to improve health…is supported by efforts to enhance food literacy, skills and knowledge” European Food and Nutrition Action Plan 2015 – 2010

Quisper® has received funding from EIT Food, the innovation community on Food of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation