Abstract
Biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) are a promising tool for limiting misclassification in nutrition research where more subjective dietary assessment instruments are used. They may also be used to assess compliance to dietary guidelines or to a dietary intervention. Biomarkers therefore hold promise for direct and objective measurement of food intake. However, the number of comprehensively validated biomarkers of food intake is limited to just a few. Many new candidate biomarkers emerge from metabolic profiling studies and from advances in food chemistry. Furthermore, candidate food intake biomarkers may also be identified based on extensive literature reviews such as described in the guidelines for Biomarker of Food Intake Reviews (BFIRev). To systematically and critically assess the validity of candidate biomarkers of food intake, it is necessary to outline and streamline an optimal and reproducible validation process. A consensus-based procedure was used to provide and evaluate a set of the most important criteria for systematic validation of BFIs. As a result, a validation procedure was developed including eight criteria, plausibility, dose-response, time-response, robustness, reliability, stability, analytical performance, and inter-laboratory reproducibility. The validation has a dual purpose: (1) to estimate the current level of validation of candidate biomarkers of food intake based on an objective and systematic approach and (2) to pinpoint which additional studies are needed to provide full validation of each candidate biomarker of food intake. This position paper on biomarker of food intake validation outlines the second step of the BFIRev procedure but may also be used as such for validation of new candidate biomarkers identified, e.g., in food metabolomic studies.
Highlights
Quantitative assessment of food intake is normally done by the use of questionnaires, diaries, or interviews [1, 2]
Validation can be assessed for each candidate biomarker by evaluating the current evidence related to each of the characteristics proposed, thereby answering the related question
This paper outlines a simple validation system for candidate BFIs identified from a literature search, from metabolomic studies, or from food chemistry
Summary
Quantitative assessment of food intake is normally done by the use of questionnaires, diaries, or interviews [1, 2]. These instruments are error-prone due to their subjective nature [3]. The use of qualitative biomarkers to assess recent food intake could be a qualification tool to improve the value of current instruments for food intake assessment. Dragsted et al Genes & Nutrition (2018) 13:14 biomarkers of food intake This gives hope that candidate biomarkers may be found for a large number of foods. They must be validated to assure that they accurately represent the level of intake of the food considered, that the sample type and time of sampling is appropriate for the intended use, and that the analytical method is valid according to current standards
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