Impact of a Dynamic Food Supply on Food Composition Databases

Food composition data have a variety of end uses ranging from labelling of single foods to individual food intakes to national dietary surveys. Micronutrients may be critical indicators of nutritional status when individual or national daily intake data are considered but the most used data are those of macronutrients. Sources of error for the end user are myriad and increasingly well described. A recent study measured the variances involved in estimating the composition of foods/recipes not listed on a food composition database. A group of expert users showed significant differences in estimates of protein and micronutrients but not energy fat and carbohydrate when the same food records were analysed using the same database.This investigation illustrates a related difficulty—high turnover rates of manufactured foods and consequences for end users. The Manufactured Food Database contains about 5000 manufactured foods and has a 30–50% annual turnover. The manufacturer reported macronutrient data on this database offer an additional resource to end users in the setting of a dynamic food supply. The impact of voluntary fortification is another confounding factor for end users with traditional food composition databases and has particular implications for monitoring population nutrient intakes. Food composition database providers must consider new and novel approaches to describing a rapidly changing food supply.     

Structure and Uses of USDA Food Composition Databases

Food composition databases are a basic tool to assess dietary status of a population and are therefore critical for nutrition policy development. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service develops and disseminates widely used food composition databases. The two largest are the Standard Reference (SR) and Survey databases. These two databases have a similar number of foods (6000–7000) but different structures and uses. This paper describes these two databases from the user's perspective. The SR database includes foods used in the United States for which up-to-date nutrient data are available. Foods are listed unprepared (raw) and by the most common preparation methods. The Survey database, used with national surveys of food intake, describes foods in consumer terms. The SR database lists approximately 77 food components, but may not have values for components in all foods. The Survey database lists fewer components (about 50) but has values for these components for every food on the database. Many food composition databases are derived from the SR and Survey databases. They form the backbone for databases on popular software programs and in printed references and are used around the world in creating databases to characterize local food intake.     

Food Composition Databases in Italy: Problems and Perspectives

An overview of the present Italian situation on food composition data is reported and the main current problems regarding sampling, analytical and cost problems are examined. The last edition of the Tables of Food Composition published by the National Institute of Nutrition (INN) in 1997 was considerably enriched in comparison with the previous one, with regard to both food and nutrients, following current guidelines for sampling and data quality control. Nationally based sampling plans have been developed with the collaboration of producer categories particularly with regard to some food groups (beef meat, processed meat, chicken, eggs, dairy products). Sampling protocols for poultry and processed meat are reported. New data onβ -carotene and folate determined in some Italian food by updated methodologies are compared to data reported in other tables. The differences show no complete reliability of bibliographical data. The necessity of original analytical data obtained according to both representative national sampling and well-defined analytical protocols is stressed. The main problem encountered in setting up a National Programme for Monitoring Food and Nutrients in order to create an Italian National Database for Food and Nutrients is the difficulty in obtaining financial support from public institutions.     

Nanochemoprevention: Sustained Release of Bioactive Food Components for Cancer Prevention

Chemoprevention, especially through the use of naturally occurring phytochemicals capable of impeding the process of carcinogenesis at one or more steps, is an ideal approach for cancer management. Despite accomplished outcomes in preclinical settings, its applicability to humans has met with limited success for many reasons including inefficient systemic delivery and bioavailability of promising chemopreventive agents. We have recently introduced a novel concept of “nanochemoprevention” that utilizes nanotechnology for enhancing the outcome of chemoprevention (Cancer Res 69, 1712–1716, 2009). To establish the usefulness of nanochemoprevention in cancer management, we studied the efficacy of a well identified chemopreventive agent epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) encapsulated in polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) nanoparticles (hereafter referred to as nano-EGCG) in preclinical settings. Nano-EGCG was found to retain its biological effectiveness, with over 10-fold dose advantage compared to nonencapsulated EGCG for exerting its cell growth inhibition, proapoptotic, and angiogenic inhibitory effects. Nano-EGCG was also observed to be effective in inhibiting tumor cell growth in athymic nude mice, with over 10-fold dose advantage compared to nonencapsulated EGCG. The rate of degradation of nonencapsulated EGCG was rapid, with a complete degradation within 4 h, whereas nano-EGCG had a significantly longer half-life. This study provides a foundation for the use of nanoparticle-mediated delivery of natural products to enhance the bioavailability of active agents for their enhanced effective and chemopreventive potential. In doing this, it is hoped that perceived toxicity concerns associated with prolonged use of agents could also be minimized. Oral consumption is the most desirable and acceptable form of delivery of chemopreventive agents. One disadvantage of using PLA-PEG nanoparticles is its unstable nature in acidic environment; and therefore, it is not recommended for oral consumption. To overcome this obstacle, it will be important to develop nanoparticles encapsulating phytochemicals that are suitable for oral consumption.     

Considerations on an Approach for Establishing a Framework for Bioactive Food Components

Bioactive food components have shown potential health benefits for more than a decade. Currently there are no recommended levels of intake [i.e., Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)] as there are for nutrients and fiber. DRIs for essential nutrients were based on requirements for each specific nutrient to maintain normal physiologic or biochemical function and to prevent signs of deficiency and adverse clinical effects. They were later expanded to include criteria for reducing the risk of chronic degenerative diseases for some nutrients. There are many challenges for establishing recommendations for intakes of nonessential food components. Although some nonessential food components have shown health benefits and are safe, validated biomarkers of disease risk reduction are lacking for many. Biomarkers of intake (exposure) are limited in number, especially because the bioactive compounds responsible for beneficial effects have not yet been identified or are unknown. Furthermore, given this lack of characterization of composition in a variety of foods, it is difficult to ascertain intakes of nonessential food components, especially with the use of food-frequency questionnaires designed for estimating intakes of nutrients. Various intermediary markers that may predict disease outcome have been used as functional criteria in the DRI process. However, few validated surrogate endpoints of chronic disease risk exist. Nonvalidated intermediary biomarkers of risk may possibly predict clinical outcomes, but more research is needed to confirm the associations between cause and effect. One criterion for establishing acceptable intermediary outcome indicators may be the maintenance of normal physiologic function throughout adulthood, which presumably would lead to reduced chronic disease risk. Multiple biomarkers of outcomes that demonstrate the same health benefit may also be helpful. It would be beneficial to continue to refine the process of setting DRIs by convening a workshop on establishing a framework for nonessential food components that would take into consideration intermediary biomarkers indicative of optimal health.     

Statistical Methods for the Analysis of Food Composition Databases: A Review

Evidence-based knowledge of the relationship between foods and nutrients is needed to inform dietary-based guidelines and policy. Proper and tailored statistical methods to analyse food composition databases (FCDBs) could assist in this regard. This review aims to collate the existing literature that used any statistical method to analyse FCDBs, to identify key trends and research gaps. The search strategy yielded 4238 references from electronic databases of which 24 fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Information on the objectives, statistical methods, and results was extracted. Statistical methods were mostly applied to group similar food items (37.5%). Other aims and objectives included determining associations between the nutrient content and known food characteristics (25.0%), determining nutrient co-occurrence (20.8%), evaluating nutrient changes over time (16.7%), and addressing the accuracy and completeness of databases (16.7%). Standard statistical tests (33.3%) were the most utilised followed by clustering (29.1%), other methods (16.7%), regression methods (12.5%), and dimension reduction techniques (8.3%). Nutrient data has unique characteristics such as correlated components, natural groupings, and a compositional nature. Statistical methods used for analysis need to account for this data structure. Our summary of the literature provides a reference for researchers looking to expand into this area.     

Beneficial Effects of Plant Extracts and Bioactive Food Components in Childhood Supplementation

The pivotal role of childhood nutrition has always roused a growing interest from the scientific community. Plant extracts and bioactive dietary components play a significant role in the maintenance of human health and wellness, with the potential to modulate risk factors and manage symptoms for a large number of common childhood disorders such as memory impairment, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal disorders, metabolic derangements, and pathologies related to the oral cavity. This review is designed to highlight the health benefits of botanical extracts and bioactive dietary components in children as evidenced by clinical trials, considering their safety with regards to childhood sensibilities. The supplementation of children with the herbal extracts or bioactive components mentioned in this review leads to the conclusion that they are useful for treating various ailments, with no serious adverse events being reported. However, for the limited number of investigations specifically focused on the safety of such products in children, time is needed to expand the literature data covering the safety of childhood supplementation with botanical extract and bioactive food components.     

Cross-Border Use of Food Databases: Equivalence of US and Australian Databases for Macronutrients

When estimating dietary intake across multiple countries, the lack of a single comprehensive dietary database may lead researchers to modify one database to analyze intakes for all participants. This approach may yield results different from those using the country-specific database and introduce measurement error. We examined whether nutrient intakes of Australians calculated with a modified US database would be similar to those calculated with an Australian database. We analyzed 3-day food records of 68 Australian adults using the US-based Nutrition Data System for Research, modified to reflect food items consumed in Australia. Modification entailed identifying a substitute food whose energy and macronutrient content were within 10% of the Australian food or by adding a new food to the database. Paired Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare differences in nutrient intakes estimated by both databases, and Pearson and intraclass correlation coefficients measured degree of association and agreement between intake estimates for individuals. Median intakes of energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fiber differed by <5% at the group level. Larger discrepancies were seen for fat (11%; P<0.0001) and most micronutrients. Despite strong correlations, nutrient intakes differed by >10% for an appreciable percentage of participants (35% for energy to 69% for total fat). Adding country-specific food items to an existing database resulted in similar overall macronutrient intake estimates but was insufficient for estimating individual intakes. When analyzing nutrient intakes in multinational studies, greater standardization and modification of databases may be required to more accurately estimate intake of individuals.     

Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Components in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Greens: A Review

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a nutrient-rich grain native to South America and eaten worldwide as a healthy food, sometimes even referred to as a ”superfood”. Like quinoa grains, quinoa greens (green leaves, sprouts, and microgreens) are also rich in nutrients and have health promoting properties such as being antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiobesity, and cardio-beneficial. Quinoa greens are gluten-free and provide an excellent source of protein, amino acids, essential minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. Quinoa greens represent a promising value-added vegetable that could resolve malnutrition problems and contribute to food and nutritional security. The greens can be grown year-round (in the field, high tunnel, and greenhouse) and have short growth durations. In addition, quinoa is salt-, drought-, and cold-tolerant and requires little fertilizer and water to grow. Nevertheless, consumption of quinoa greens as leafy vegetables is uncommon. To date, only a few researchers have investigated the nutritional properties, phytochemical composition, and human health benefits of quinoa greens. We undertook a comprehensive review of the literature on quinoa greens to explore their nutritional and functional significance to human health and to bring awareness to their use in human diets.     

Standardization of Food Composition Databases for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): General Theoretical Concept

EPIC is a prospective cohort study on diet and cancer involving 480 000 subjects from nine European countries. In order to establish the relationship between nutrient intakes and disease, standardized food composition databases are needed. In the absence of already existing comparable European nutrient database(s), an ad hoc approach was developed to standardize the EPIC databases. New matrices were built using information as collected from the EPIC study subjects in order to overcome the difficulty of reducing the systematic differences between food lists in national databases. In the EPIC databases, the foods lists, vertical axes, are based on information derived from standardized computerized 24-h diet recalls collected from 35 000 subjects. The criteria of selection and level of detail on foods reported in the EPIC databases are therefore highly standardized between countries. In addition, reported recipes are systematically broken down into ingredients to optimize the comparison between countries. For the nutrient list, horizontal axes, the number, mode of expression, definition, unit and methods of analysis are fixed. The compilation of nutrients, nutrient value cells, is carried out using standardized sources of nutrient data or algorithms. Depending on whether the food is common or country-specific, the same or country-specific source of values will be used. This approach addresses some methodological issues, which may have implications for future priorities and development of food composition tables.     

Changes in Dietary Guidance: Implications for Food and Nutrient Databases

Two types of dietary guidance for Americans have recently been released, and both have important implications for the way data are organized on food and nutrient databases. New dietary reference intakes (DRIs) have been set for 17 nutrients, and in several cases the units for these recommendations do not match those traditionally carried on nutrient databases. Furthermore, some of the tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) are specified only for supplemental and fortification forms of nutrients, which necessitates calculating separate intake values for nutrients from foods and nutrients that are added to foods or taken as supplements. The year 2000 revision of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans also suggest new ways to evaluate dietary intakes: there is an increased emphasis on obtaining an appropriate number of servings from food groups such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lowfat dairy products. To allow users of nutrient databases to provide relevant evaluations of dietary data, developers will need to consider carrying a much larger array of variables in order to calculate intakes of folate in folate equivalents, vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol (not as alpha-tocopherol equivalents), nutrients occurring in foods versus added or supplemental nutrients, and the number of servings from a variety of food groups.

• •For more information on the DRIs, see:.
• •For more information on the year 2000 Dietary Guidelines, see:

     

The Identification of Key Foods for Food Composition Research

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) was initiated to update existing component values and to add data on new foods and components to reflect today's marketplace and needs for data. The USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference contains data for about 6040 foods for over 100 compounds. To develop a full nutrient profile for each food costs approximately $12 000 (six analytical samples×$2000 per sample). To determine food sampling priorities, the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) has used the Key Foods approach to generate a list of 666 foods. This method utilizes existing nutrient profiles and nationally representative food consumption survey data collected by USDA in the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals 1994–1996 (CSFII) and by The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). One premise of the project is that more samples will be collected and prepared for those foods which provide important amounts of nutrients of public health significance to the diet and not every sample will be analyzed for all the nutrients currently in NDL's nutrient databases. Even though the list of 666 Key Foods is much more manageable, procedures to set priorities for analysis are still needed. To accomplish this, two approaches were developed. One is based on a point system, and the other on nutrient consumption data. Based on an analysis of the two approaches, the nutrient consumption approach was chosen to be the primary method of selecting foods for analysis. This paper reports details of the two methods to modify the existing Key Foods list to determine new and specific priorities for NFNAP efforts. This program represents a comprehensive approach to collect baseline nationally representative data. Results will be used to update the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and to establish future priorities for frequency of updates.