Risk-benefit assessment in food Systems: Towards personalized nutrition and sustainable diets

Background: The complexity of contemporary food systems requires sophisticated risk-benefit assessment (RBA) methodologies to ensure food safety, optimize nutritional adequacy, and sustainability, while addressing personalized needs. Traditional RBA frameworks face challenges with innovations such as personalized nutrition and novel food technologies, necessitating a more adaptive approach that considers individual health outcomes with broader environmental and societal goals. Scope and approach: This review critically examines recent advancements and methodological trends in RBA, emphasizing the integration of multi-tiered RBA approaches and personalized nutrition strategies. It examines the incorporation of personalized nutrition into RBA framework, which customizes dietary recommendations based on genetic, microbiome, and lifestyle factors. The review explores risk-benefit communication as a critical bridge connecting scientific assessment with practical implementation, particularly at the intersection of personalized nutrition and sustainable diets. Additionally, it explores the integration of environmental and economic sustainability considerations into RBA through nutritional life cycle assessment (nLCA), which provides a methodological foundation for evaluating environmental impacts alongside nutritional adequacy. Through diverse case studies and practical applications, this review establishes a holistic RBA framework that aligns individual health optimization with societal goals. Key findings and conclusions: The review identifies critical challenges, including data gaps, methodological limitations in evaluating complex dietary interactions, and the necessity for improved health metrics that capture the multifaceted effects of dietary patterns. It proposes strategic frameworks for sustainable diet integration in RBA, emphasizing dietary pattern transitional analysis. Additionally, it advances multidimensional indicator development through integration of cross-dimensional metrics. Future directions suggest enhancing data infrastructure, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and refining integrative health metrics to advance RBA's role in advocating for health-promoting and environmentally sustainable diets.