New online tool to help Europeans plan healthier, sustainable weekly diets
A new online tool designed to empower Europeans to make healthier and more sustainable diet choices has been unveiled.
Foodbasket7 was created as part of the PATHWAYS project, which promotes sustainable eating as part of the EU Green Deal.
Free and open to all, Foodbasket7 provides personalised insights into the nutritional quality and environmental impact of users’ weekly diets.
According to its designers, the tool will help consumers, educators, researchers, and policymakers "navigate the complex relationship between food, health, and sustainability".
Foodbasket7 enables users to construct a weekly food basket by selecting from more than 1,600 food items.
The tool then evaluates each basket’s nutritional adequacy across 28 essential nutrients and its environmental impact using 16 product environmental footprint (PEF) indicators, offering a dual-perspective assessment.
‘Improving consumers’ diets’
Gilles Nassy, coordinator of Foodbasket7, said: “The Foodbasket7 tool addresses the challenge of improving consumers' diets by combining nutritional balance and sustainability.
“This website allows everyone to adjust their diet week by week, in order to improve their health while reducing their environmental impact."
Foodbasket7’s interface and educational dashboard are designed to make it easy to experiment, reflect, and improve dietary habits progressively.
Nutritional results are benchmarked against EFSA recommendations, while environmental impacts are compared to national averages from the French INCA 3 study - helping users understand how their choices align with both health guidelines and real-world consumption patterns.
Instant feedback
Users receive instant visual feedback with colour-coded scores showing how their choices meet recommended dietary intakes and environmental benchmarks.
The tool highlights nutritional trade-offs, such as the bioavailability of iron and zinc or the environmental impact of beef, using personalised algorithms and harmonised reference values.
“Thanks to the new Foodbasket7 web tool, it is now possible to simultaneously assess the ability of your meals to meet your nutritional needs and measure their environmental impact,” said Nassy.
“This tool provides clear answers to these two essential questions for a healthier and more sustainable diet.”
According to the tool's designers, Foodbasket7 "promises a powerful new resource for anyone seeking to better understand, and improve, their nutritional and environmental footprint".
Foodbasket7 is now available online for free.
