Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 April 4

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April 4[edit]

Slavery and colonial rule[edit]

Nutrient Reference Value[edit]

I just came across the acronym ‘NRV’ and found that none of the meanings given in that page fit. A little more research in the internet showed that it stands for ‘Nutrient Reference Value’ and that these values “are set for 13 vitamins and 14 minerals for the purposes of food labelling and are EU guidance levels on the daily amount of vitamin or mineral that the average healthy person needs to prevent deficiency.”[1]. This sounds pretty important, at least to me as a layperson. So I'm wondering why we have no article about the lemma. Is there a reason for that (maybe such as that it's better known under a synonymous name) or should we create one? (We could take the article Reference Daily Intake as a template.) ◅ Sebastian 16:59, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The concept is due to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), a joint committee of the FAO and WHO.[2] For an overview and history, see here. For the latest NRVs determined by the CCNFSDU, see here.  --Lambiam 17:28, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Lambiam. The values differ a bit from the list i found, but imho your source seems a bit more reliable. Only, what do you think the comma values such as “Iron 14 mg, 22 mg” mean? Possibly the values for ♂︎ and ♀︎, but i don't see a note to that effect, and i wasn't aware NRV made that distinction. ◅ Sebastian 19:08, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The numbers reflect different absorption percentages, corresponding to different dietary patterns. This is described in 6.3.2: "NRVs-R with same value as NRV and additional information" of the overview and history paper, pp. 44–45:
Dietary descriptions
15% absorption    Diversified diets, rich in meat, fish, poultry and/or rich in fruit and vegetables
10% absorption    Diets rich in cereals, roots or tubers, with some meat, fish, poultry and/or containing some fruit and vegetables
Conclusion
CCNFSDU (2015) agreed to establish two NRVs-R for iron of 14 mg (15 percent absorption) and 22 mg (10 percent absorption), revised from a single NRV of 14 mg.
--Lambiam 19:41, 4 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, Lambiam, makes sense. ◅ Sebastian 10:01, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

So, any answer to my original question? Is that already covered in Wikipedia somewhere or should we create an article? ◅ Sebastian 10:01, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It does not seem to be covered. A possible approach is to incorporate the material, together with that of Dietary Reference Intake and Reference Daily Intake, in the article Dietary Reference Value, which ought to become an umbrella article presenting a global and historic overview of the concepts involved.  --Lambiam 15:46, 6 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]