KiESEL - The Children's Nutrition Survey to Record Food Consumption

The BfR has carried out a nationwide representative study known as the "KiESEL study", which stands for "Kinder-Ernährungsstudie zur Erfassung des Lebensmittelverzehrs" (The Children's Nutrition Survey to  Record Food Consumption).

The KiESEL study recorded the food consumption of infants, toddlers and children from the age of six months up to and including five years. The aim of the KiESEL study was to obtain the latest data on the nutritional situation of children. The BfR can make realistic exposure assessments based on these data and, therefore, better assess risks due to eating habits.

The surveys on food consumption were carried out by the BfR’s KiESEL study team from 2014 until the end of 2017.

Thank you for participating!

It’s done: in November 2017, the data collection for KiESEL was completed after three years. The BfR would like to thank everyone who took the time to answer our questions, fill in the children's dietary records and answer our queries.

First key data and study methodology

The publication in the "Journal of Health Monitoring" provides an overview of the methodology and the most important key data:

• http://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Gesundheitsmonitoring/Gesundheitsberichterstattung/GBEDownloadsJ/ConceptsMethods/JoHM_02S3_2017_KiESEL.pdf?__blob=publicationFile

Data processing has now been completed and the evaluation phase will follow. All existing publications on KiESEL can be found under "KiESEL publication list" (in german).

The KiESEL study is for consumer protection

Undesirable substances in our food are diverse in their nature. There might be traces of plant protection products or substances that are produced during manufacturing (for example, acrylamide in chips) or that enter our food from the environment. Foodborne microorganisms, such as salmonella or listeria, can also be hazardous to health. Children in particular can sometimes react sensitively to the intake of these substances. The BfR assesses health risks caused by the intake of these kinds of substances. To do this, up-to-date information is required on the type and quantities of food consumed by children in Germany.

The KiESEL study updates and expands the knowledge on food consumption from the child's nutrition study (VELS study) carried out between 2001 and 2002. The new information on the nutritional situation helps to improve and protect food safety, consumer protection and the health of infants, toddlers and children in Germany.

Information on the study

The KiESEL study is a cross-sectional study and a module of the "German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents" ("KiGGS Wave 2") study that was carried out by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). KiGGS is the RKI's nationwide representative long-term study on the health of children and adolescents in Germany. The BfR conducted the KiESEL study in cooperation with the RKI.

The participants in the KiESEL study are a subgroup of the KiGGS study participants. A group of all KiGGS participants from the age of six months up to and including five years was randomly selected and invited to take part in the KiESEL study. Participation was only possible for this selected group of children.

The Berlin Chamber of Physicians’ ethics committee was informed about the KiESEL study concept and gave approval for the study to be carried out.

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