1

Letter to the Sponsor

Cindy Davis, Ph.D.
National Program Leader in Human Nutrition
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
5601 Sunnyside Avenue
Beltsville, MD 20705-5138

Dear Dr. Davis:

The Standing Committee for the Review of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) Framework (standing committee) was asked to consider the use of systematic reviews in support of the Dietary Reference Intakes. The committee was also asked to develop a decision tree and address the need for meta-analysis questions as part of the systematic review process. I am writing in response to questions posed in open sessions, held July 8, 2022, with the standing committee by the Joint U.S.-Canadian Working Group for the Dietary Reference Intakes related to three key questions: (1) Are de novo systematic reviews always needed or can qualified systematic reviews be identified? (2) If qualified systematic reviews can be used, what are the inclusion and exclusion criteria for suitability? (3) Can previously published systematic reviews be updated? The sponsors further requested the committee comment on the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2022 and a report from the European Food Safety Authority, “Scientific Opinion on a Tolerable Upper Intake Level for Dietary Sugars.” The standing committee discussed these questions and in this letter report, provides a high-level

summary of the committee’s consensus opinion on said questions. The committee’s intent was to provide overarching responses that could apply across future DRI reviews as well as the current review.

Thank you on behalf of the standing committee,

John W. Erdman. Jr., Ph.D.
Committee chair