The Development and Application of Food Composition Databases

The Development and
Application of Food Composition
Databases
Joanne M. Holden, Research Leader
Nutrient Data Laboratory
Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center
Agricultural Research Service
US Department of Agriculture

A knowledge of the chemical
composition of foods is the first
essential in dietary treatment of
disease or in any quantitative
study of human nutrition.
-McCance & Widdowson, 1940

Chronic Health Conditions
Cardiovascular disease and hypertension
Cancer
Obesity
Diabetes
Blindness and macular degeneration
Immune response/ Autoimmune diseases
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
Other- Vitamin A, Iodine, Iron, etc.

Today’s Assumptions
Food intake affects human health status
Food intake can have positive or negative
effects
Foods change over time- a dynamic system
Food composition is a multi-variate problem
based on biological chemistry and derived
through statistics
Food components (e.g. nutrients) are
biological variables and vary according to
mathematical principles

Intake Assessment of
Dietary Components
Supplement
Intake
Food
Intake
Component
Values
Total
Components
Intake

Food Composition Database?
• The “reference” source for food values
• Foundation for other databases
• Lists of foods, raw, processed and
prepared
• Nutrient values/other components
• Good documentation
• One source or many sources
• Analyzed and/or calculated values

USDA Flow of FCD Information
Analytical Projects
(NFNAP, USDA, FDA, etc.)
Industry Data
Data from
Scientific
Literature
Food and
Nutrient
Database for
Dietary
Surveys
Database System
Imputations Formulations
Recipes Algorithms
Standard
Reference
(SR)
Label
Information
Special Releases
(Vitamin K, Carotenoids
Flavonoids, Choline,
Nutritive Fluoride)
Value of Foods
(printed)

USDA’s Nutrient Database
for Standard Reference (SR)
7100 foods
Values for up to 128 nutritional components
Agricultural commodities, formulated foods
Generic estimates for agricultural
commodities, processed, and prepared
fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, grains
Brandname and generic estimates for RTE
cereals, selected fast foods, candies,
beverages

Expansion of Composition Databases
Short Lists of
Foods
& Values
Special Interest
Databases
Literature
Analytical
Reports
Food Industry
FFQ
Nutrient
Database for
Standard
Reference
7100
Foods
3000
Foods
Survey Nutrient
Database (FNDDS)
7000 “Recipe”
Foods reported by
Participants
62 Components
Yield & Nutrient
Retention Factors
All Cells Filled

What Do the Data Represent?
Estimates of means or central tendency
Nationally representative of food supply?
Based on high quality analytical data
Recognized algorithms for calculation and
estimation
Other statistical parameters?

How Are FCD Used?
To estimate population intake of nutrients
To determine Dietary Reference Intake STDs
To initiate diet planning
To conduct clinical research
To provide dietary guidance
To provide nutrient data for food labels
(i.e., the food ingredients or final foods)
To support trade of commodities or products

Food Composition Data
Inappropriate Uses
To calculate the intake of individuals
Use of outdated data for current foods
Analysis of one convenience sample
to represent national or regional
composition
“Borrow” data from sources with
different food supply

Questions about Food and Health
Are “our foods” declining in nutritive
value since 1950? Since 1975?
What is the intake of nutrient “X” in our
children?
What are the nutrient-nutrient
interactions which affect “our” people?
French paradox vs Mediterranean diet?

Food Supply is Dynamic
Food formulations change over time
More food is consumed away from
home or as processed prepared food
Sources of foods change
Sources of ingredients change
Cultivars and breeds may change
AND…Methods change….

-Carotene in Broccoli
Updated Values
2500
2000
(mcg/100 g)
1500
1000
500
Car98
NFNAP
NFNAP
0

Food Changes in the USA
1998-Folic acid fortification of cereal grains a
2006- Trans fatty acid labeling
Changes in profile of safflower oil
New DRI definition “Retinol Activity
Equivalents”
New biological activity factors for Vitamin E
“Enhancement” of fresh pork and chicken
cuts
Introduction of the MDIII pineapple cultivarhigher
vitamin C

Nutrient Distribution and Bias
Type 1
Type 2
x
x

Values for Fortified Foods
Too high? Too low? Too variable?
Folic acid, Vitamin D in milk, cereal grains
Use of Fortification limit for FCDB value?
Form of the nutrient used: all-rac a-
tocopherol vs RRR-form
Shift to processed foods: Use of fortified
ingredients in processed foods? Iodized
salt? Vit D fortified milk?
Accepted bioactivity of nutrient forms
Use of fortified foods as part of national food
guidance plan

Fluoride variability in municipal water
40
35
30
Number
of
samples
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Fluoridated
Non-Fluoridated
Mg/100 g
ppm

Vitamin D Fortification of Milks
2003 Grade “A” Pasteurized
USDA Milk Ordinance
Label Claim: 400 IU/quart ( or liter)
Acceptable range for vitamin D is
100 – 150% of label claim = 400 – 600 IU/qt

Vitamin D in New York Milk Samples 1 1997 -
2000
200
175
150
Number of samples
125
100
75
50
25
0
680
Vitamin D, IU/Qt
1
Murphy, Whited, Rosenberry, Hammond, Bandler and Boor (2001) J. Dairy Sci. 84:2813-2820.

Enhancement of Fresh Pork and
Chicken…
Meats are injected with solutions of sodium
phosphates and other chemicals
Permitted level is approximately 10-15%,
by weight
Appearance of meat is not altered
Labeling is not adequate for consumer
Sodium increases from 65 mg to >250
mg/100g

Industry Changes Safflower Oil
Profile
SFA
MUFA
PUFA
NDB.ID.no
Date
High Linoleic
Acid (gm /100g)
9.1
12.1
74.5
04510
1990
High Oleic Acid
(gm/100g)
6.2
74.6
14.4
04511
2000

DRI Panels Change Nutrient
Definitions…
Retinol activity equivalents replace earlier
“retinol equivalents”
New factors for conversion of beta- and
alpha-carotene to retinol are approved
Alpha-tocopherol equivalents are replaced
by mg of alpha-tocopherol
All-rac alpha tocopherol is designated at
lower activity than RRR-alpha tocopherol
Folic acid is given higher activity than folate

Challenges for Databases
Updating food composition data
Providing data for new components
Support of the DRI’s
Values for new and fortified products
Harmonization with international policy
Monitoring laboratory performance
Assessing variability in nutrient data from
labs

Harmonization with Int’l Databases
Development and application of
nutrient factors (nitrogen, energy)
Systematic food description
Evaluation of the quality of data
Application of chemical methods
Use of analytical quality control
FAO-UNU-INFOODS

Setting Priorities…
Food Composition Studies
What are the major public health problems?
What are the “Key” foods in the diet?
Which foods are the primary sources of
nutrients?
How good are the existing data?
What methods are available?
(e.g. analytical or calculation methods)
What methods have changed?
What resources (human, fiscal, technical) are
available?

What Can Government Do?
Recognize the need for continuous
monitoring of nutrients in foods and the
need to update
Provide continuous funding and staff for
maintaining a foundation or base for FCB
Provide a scientific forum for research and
discussion
Maintain a neutral and credible position
based on scientific principles
Increase visibility of FCDB

What Can the Food Industry Do?
Serve as advocates for development and use
of the National food composition data
Support the development of FCDB with
funding and scientific/ technical expertise
Work as partners to plan and conduct new
studies of food composition
Contribute data for your food products

What is the Role of National Labs?
To advocate for support for the FCDB.
To provide technical information about
the specific food groups for which data
are needed.
To collaborate with government to
conduct rigorous and well-documented
studies to update the FCDB for specific
food groups

How Can Universities Help?
Advocate for development and use of FCDB.
Focus research on the development and
optimization of new state-of-the-art methods.
Incorporate food composition modules into
study proposals
Train young professionals (BS, MS, Ph.D.) in
analytical techniques and their impact on
food composition data
Recognize the links between food
composition research and biological
science, mathematics, and economics

New Directions in Public Health
Research indicates changes in bioavailability
factors
Hypotheses about new functions of “old”
nutrients
Long-term use of pharmaceutical drugs
and possible food interactions
Increased allergenicity to foods
Increased longevity for the population
Nutrition genetics
New research on plant components in plants

What Will the Future Bring?
Ability to analyze more foods and
compounds
Greater electronic access to data within
and across countries (e.g. EuroFIR)
Greater transparency for data-more
documentation for the data user
Better nutrition research
Better food choices by the people!

Nutrient Data on the Go!
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Nutrient Data Laboratory, USDA
Web Site:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata

Muito Obrigada
Perguntas? Questions?