EditorialEvidence for diet and chronic disease relationships requires food composition data
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The impact of revising fats and oils data in the US Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies
2009, Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisMajor changes occurred in the fats and oils data for foods in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR), Releases 17, 18, and 20. New items were added and values for existing items updated. These data were incorporated into the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), Releases 2.0 and 3.0 through cooperation between the Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG), where the FNDDS is prepared for the analysis of What We Eat in America (WWEIA), the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), where SR is produced and which serves as the basis for the nutrient values in FNDDS. The task of updating the FNDDS requires synergistic efforts by specialists at both NDL and FSRG as well as extensive communication with industry. To determine the changes needed in FNDDS, recipes and ingredient lists were reviewed for the types of fats/oils used for several food categories. The types of fats/oils in commercially prepared foods such as crackers and in home/restaurant-prepared food such as fried fish were updated based on product formulation changes, availability of data in SR, and review of information from industry and the WWEIA, NHANES. Also, updated nutrient values from SR for existing fats/oils were incorporated into the FNDDS. Using national data from the WWEIA, NHANES 2001–2004, the impact of these changes on daily intake estimates of energy, total fat and fatty acids was determined. These changes resulted in minor but statistically significant (p < 0.001) differences in mean intakes for the majority of the nutrients.
Quality control procedures for the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies nutrient values
2008, Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisAccurate dietary assessment depends on a high-quality food and nutrient database. While much progress has been made in the quality of analytical nutrient data, the area of database quality control remains largely uncovered. Increased automation of database maintenance and update processes necessitates stringent quality control procedures. A detailed quality control (QC) plan has advanced over the years and is in place for the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) nutrient values file. Multiple checks are performed for all new and revised data at different steps of the update process to ensure integrity and accuracy in the database. Based on the purpose of the checks, they are grouped into three categories: nutrient integrity checks, database integrity checks, and database validation checks. Details of the QC checks used for the FNDDS nutrient values file and features of the QC system are given. This information can be helpful for managers responsible for maintaining nutrient databases, and discussions on this topic may stimulate development of systems to ensure integrity and accuracy in nutrient databases.
Fatty acid composition of Costa Rican foods including trans fatty acid content
2007, Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisTo further understand the fatty acid–disease relationships in an epidemiologic context, detailed composition tables are required. The composition of the major saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids that are most abundant in the diet, is available for numerous foods in many countries, but data on the content of individual fatty acids with relative low abundance are scarce. We conducted a study to establish a fatty acid composition database that includes fatty acids with low relative abundance as well as trans fatty acids for the main sources of fat in the Costa Rican diet. Fatty acids were determined by gas chromatography. We present in-depth fatty acid composition tables for foods that are commonly used in Costa Rica. These analyses include information on alpha-linolenic, gamma-linolenic, arachidonic acid and trans fatty acids, which are important for health but where information is scarce. Of particular interest is the high content of trans fatty acids in partially hydrogenated soybean oil in Costa Rica, although decreasing over time. In a period of 10 years the amount of total trans fatty acids in Costa Rican soybean oil has decreased from an average of 20 to 1.5%, while alpha-linolenic has increased from an average of 1.87 to 6.06%. Our data will be of special interest for studies on Latin American countries requiring dietary information.
The effect of improved food composition data on intake estimates in the United States of America
2006, Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisThe effect of improved food composition data on nutrient intake estimates was determined by re-analyzing dietary intake data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) 1994–1996, 1998 with the multi-year version of the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 1.0, wherein only the data improvements such as those due to new analytical data replaced the older values. Mean differences between the old and revised estimates were determined. Improved data resulted in minor but statistically significant () differences in mean intake estimates for most nutrients. Nutrients or food components with greatest differences included vitamin C, riboflavin, magnesium, and caffeine. As a result of these changes, 4–7% more adults have inadequate intakes of vitamin C and magnesium. Caffeine intakes were lower by about 25%. Changes in the food composition values for fluid milk, tomatoes, coffee, and mixed dishes appear to have had the most impact. These artifactual changes require adjustments to the earlier intake estimates to improve comparability with more current intakes.
The application of hierarchical clusters analysis to the study of the composition of foods
2006, Food ChemistryThe nutritional value of prepared foods is frequently questioned or requested at restaurants by its costumers. Therefore, this paper aimed to apply HCA to categorize foods according to their nutritive values. Fifty three samples of prepared foods from four different restaurants were analyzed for proximate composition using the AOAC methods [AOAC (1995). Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Official method of analysis. Arlington, Cereal foods, Supplement (pp. 7–11).]. The multivariate statistical analysis of data using the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) technique was obtained through the SPSS (10.0) program. French fries were the most caloric preparation; they also have considerable total fiber content. Milled white rice is rich in carbohydrates; and calories and fiber-poor. Arugula offers the highest protein and total fiber content, whereas lettuce presented the smallest amount of these two nutrients. Beans are the main source of dietary fiber and have a low caloric value. The most caloric preparations are French fries and fried zucchini Milanese Type of processing employed in preparing the foods might account for the variation in results between the establishments studied HCA was a useful guide for looking at and analyzing the different types of foods comparatively. Given how easy it is to calculate this with software, it is recommendable to be used even as an exploratory tool, capable of aiding intuition in the analysis of the set of data. HCA can be useful guide/tools to educate consumers on the nutritive values of foods selling in a restaurant and to help the consumers to select the foods which are suitable to their help, if required.
Fostering quality data in food composition databases: Visions for the future
2004, Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisFood composition data are currently being used in ways not well-anticipated several years ago. Consequently, some of our criteria of quality, of both data per se and of databases, need to be re-examined, expanded, or otherwise adjusted. Among the key criteria for reassessment for the future vision are the concepts of representativeness, completeness, and a harmonized approach. The controversial issues related to these concepts are food biotechnology and biodiversity, climate change and other environmental phenomena, risk assessment, trade and regulatory requirements, and evidence for diet/disease relationships.