Quality and standards--the dietitian's heritage. 16th Lenna Frances Cooper Memorial Lecture.

Since 1917, when The American Dietetic Association was founded, dietitians have been charged with accountability for defining and maintaining quality and standards related to food. This heritage continues to be a challenge to the profession. With current methods of food production, processing, preparation, and distribution, and varied and changing consumer preferences and demands, the need for monitoring the effect of these changes on quality as it relates to improving the nutrition of people is critical. Quality must be defined with regard for values and goals for individual situations and under varying circumstances. Standards by which that specific quality can be measured need to be described. Tian's heritage" their "hallmark" of quality.