A scoring system for validity assessment of biomarkers of food intake
Review article, 2026
Recently, numerous novel putative biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) have been discovered to complement self-reported dietary assessment. However, few BFIs have been properly validated for their intended applications due to lack of comprehensive validation frameworks, need for complementary expertise and scattered data in the literature. Although a few biomarker validation frameworks have been proposed, they still require improvement to fully encompass relevant criteria and provide precise guidance for harmonized evaluation of BFI validity. The FoodPhyt consortium developed a new scoring system based on the FoodBAll validation scheme, to standardize scoring and allow comparison of BFIs with varying validity. The following criteria were included: level of identification and plausibility (pass-or-fail criteria), specificity, variability in plants/foods and biological samples, dose-response, robustness, and analytical characterization. The score is bipartite and includes availability of supporting literature (data availability), and BFI quality (performance). Data availability helps assessing confidence in the assigned score, while highlighting knowledge gaps. Detailed guidelines and examples are provided to facilitate BFI scoring and reproducible application. An online repository, BFI-Hub (https://biomarker.plantintake.eu/app/), was developed to share validity scores of BFIs and detailed validation data. This database represents a key step to make BFI information universally accessible and facilitate application of BFIs in practice.
scoring system
dietary assessment
biomarker validation
online repository
Biomarker of food intake
practical guidance
Author
Christoph Hassenberg
Max Rubner-Institut, Germany
Carina I. Mack
Max Rubner-Institut, Germany
Claudia Favari
University of Parma
Sylvie Baier
German Research Center for Environmental Health
Ramon Estruch
University of Barcelona
Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition
Gabi Kastenmuller
German Research Center for Environmental Health
Rosa Lamuela-Raventos
University of Barcelona
Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition
Rikard Landberg
Chalmers, Life Sciences, Food and Nutrition Science
Pedro Mena
University of Parma
Costanza Michelini
University of Parma
Stefania Noerman
Chalmers, Life Sciences, Food and Nutrition Science
Ana Rodriguez-Mateos
King's College London
Mia Stråvik
Chalmers, Life Sciences, Food and Nutrition Science
Francisco A. Tomas-Barberan
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Lara Vehovec
German Research Center for Environmental Health
David S. Wishart
University of Alberta
Claudine Manach
Clermont Auvergne University
Sabine E. Kulling
Max Rubner-Institut, Germany
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
1040-8398 (ISSN) 1549-7852 (eISSN)
Vol. In PressSubject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Neurosciences
DOI
10.1080/10408398.2026.2633561
PubMed
42053260