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Nutrient Essentiality Revisited, Stephanie Jew, Jean-Michel Antoine, Pierre Bourlioux, John Milner, Linda C. Tapsell, Yuexin Yang, Peter J. H Jones

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

With increased understanding of the complex roles nutrients play within metabolic pathways, the purpose of this contribution is to explore the rationale for expanding the definitions and criteria for nutrient essentiality. A further objective was to develop three case study scenarios to probe issues surrounding the definition of essentiality using dietary fibre, plant sterols and polyphenols. Current definitions and criteria for "essentiality" were reviewed through an environmental scan of the scientific literature. Additionally, international regulatory bodies were asked whether the terms "nutrient" and/or "essential nutrient" are regulated in their respective jurisdictions. Regulatory bodies including the EFSA, the US FDA, HC …