7 U.S.C. § 5301 — Congressional statement of purposes

make more effective use of Federal and State expenditures for nutrition monitoring, and enhance the performance and benefits of current Federal nutrition monitoring and related research^* activities;

establish and facilitate the timely implementation of a coordinated National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, and thereby provide a scientific basis for the maintenance and improvement of the nutritional status of the people of the United States and the nutritional quality^* (including, but not limited to, nutritive and nonnutritive content) of food consumed in the United States;

establish and implement a comprehensive plan^* for the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program to assess, on a continuing basis, the dietary and nutritional status of the people of the United States and the trends with respect to such status, the state of the art with respect to nutrition monitoring and related research, future monitoring and related research priorities, and the relevant policy implications;

establish and improve the quality of national nutritional and health status data and related data bases and networks, and stimulate research necessary to develop uniform indicators, standards, methodologies, technologies, and procedures for nutrition monitoring;

establish a central Federal focus for the coordination, management, and direction of Federal nutrition monitoring activities;

establish mechanisms for addressing the nutrition monitoring needs of Federal, State, and local governments, the private sector, scientific and engineering communities, health care professionals, and the public in support of the foregoing purposes; and

provide for the conduct of such scientific research and development as may be necessary or appropriate in support of such purposes.