Early history of dietary standard

During the 1830s, Boussingault in France, Gerrit Mulder (1802-80) in Holland, and Justus von Liebeig (1803-73) in Germany had all proposed that the nitrogen content of food could served as an indicator of its nutritive value.

In 1847, based on studies of Dutch army rations, Mulder recommended 100 grams of protein daily for laborer and 60 grams for a sedentary person. In 1862 Dr, Edward Smith formulated a new dietary standard at the request of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. This was expressed as 4300 gram of carbon and 200 gram of nitrogen daily, and it was exemplified in many dietary formulae.

The first organized attempt at developing a dietary standard came as a result of food shortages during World War I when it became necessary for the United States government to devise a rational basis for shipments of food from this country to its allies in Europe.

With limited knowledge at that time of nutrition in general and of human nutrient needs in particular, recommendations could be made only for energy and with reservations for protein.

Between 1920 and 1940, rapid progress was made in advancing knowledge of the newly discovered essential nutrients. The knowledge needed for establishing dietary standards was becoming available.

Beginning in 1938, Health Canada published dietary standards called Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs). In the United States, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) were first published in 1941.
Early history of dietary standard