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Food Composition Table

Food composition tables provide quantitative nutritional content of foods, including micro and macronutrients as well as non-nutrients that impact bioavailability and health. They are compiled electronically for flexibility and comprehensive accessibility. Organizations involved in developing food composition tables include government departments, universities, professional associations, food industries, and international bodies like the FAO. Nutritionists and dietitians rely on food composition tables to assess diet and health relationships, monitor food availability, develop dietary guidelines, analyze individual diets, and identify nutrient sources to inform clinical, community, and management roles across settings. Limitations include variability in food composition, incomplete coverage of foods and nutrients, database errors, and incompatibility between databases.

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239 views3 pages

Food Composition Table

Food composition tables provide quantitative nutritional content of foods, including micro and macronutrients as well as non-nutrients that impact bioavailability and health. They are compiled electronically for flexibility and comprehensive accessibility. Organizations involved in developing food composition tables include government departments, universities, professional associations, food industries, and international bodies like the FAO. Nutritionists and dietitians rely on food composition tables to assess diet and health relationships, monitor food availability, develop dietary guidelines, analyze individual diets, and identify nutrient sources to inform clinical, community, and management roles across settings. Limitations include variability in food composition, incomplete coverage of foods and nutrients, database errors, and incompatibility between databases.

Uploaded by

hafeesadetunji01
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FOOD COMPOSITION TABLE

Food composition database (FCDB), also referred to as Food composition table (FCT), are data
that provide the nutritional content of foods. FCDBs are a required input in order to convert
foods from food consumption data to nutrient intakes. Food composition tables can provide
information on chemical forms of nutrients and the presence and amounts of interacting
components, and thus provide information on their bioavailability

Food composition data (FCD) are quantitative values of the nutrients (micro and macro) and
non-nutrient components found in foods of plant and animal origin. As regards the non-nutrients,
it may not be necessary to include all but biologically active components that have been found to
interact with food in one way or the other to affect health should be considered, such as phytate.
FCD are systematically compiled in printed forms as FCT or as computerized/electronic FCDB,
although the latter are replacing the former due to their flexibility, more robust way of
documentation, comprehensiveness, accessibility and processing.

Depending on the country, food composition activities are carried out by any of the following
organizations or through a steering committee made up of key government departments and
ministries (agriculture, education and health), universities and research institutions, professional
associations/societies(Nutrition society, Dietitian Association, Food science Association, and
other related organizations), food industries and producer boards and sometimes including the
ministry of budget and planning. FCT/FCDB can be developed at the international, regional and
national levels. The earliest known global/international FCDB developed and published by FAO
was Food Composition Table for International Use (1949)

Importance of Food composition data to nutrition and dietetics practice

One of the immediate causes of malnutrition is inadequate food/nutrient intake and so the health
status and risk of many diseases are closely linked to what people eat. To combat malnutrition,
the production and consumption of nutritious and safe food must be promoted. One aspect of
food quality is its nutritional composition; therefore, any programme aimed at ensuring the
provision of nutritious food for the population must consider the composition of the food.
Nutritionists and dietitians are professionals who apply the science of food and nutrition to
promote health, prevent and treat disease to optimize the health of individuals, groups,

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communities and populations. They are trained to also develop adequate capacity at the global,
national and local level for the translation of developmental targets and guidelines into action
plans and impact.

Professional nutritionists and dietitians can function in different settings (hospitals, communities,
institutions, industries, government ministries, non-governmental organization and in private
practice. They can function as: 1. Clinical dietitians and nutritionists: They provide medical
nutrition therapy in hospitals, clinics, care facilities and institutions. They counsel patients on
how to improve their health through adequate nutrition. In some cases, they offer customized
services based on the special needs of patients of those with special disease conditions such as
diabetes, renal, heart, kidney disease, and others. 2. Community dietitians and nutritionist: these
are concerned with public health nutrition. They are involved in policy and programme
development and implementation; and counsel members of the public on issues based on food,
health and nutrition. They can be found in public health clinics, government establishments, non-
pprofit organization, international agencies and private practice. 3. Management dietitians and
nutritionist: these work in food service organizations, such as cafeterias, hospitals, educational
institutions and other care facilities. Professionals in these areas plan, purchase and manage the
service of meals in these institutions. To perform these functions effectively and deliver
appropriate nutritional advice, nutrition and dietetics professionals need knowledge and access to
good quality FCT/FCDB.

The different uses of FCD are summarized:

- It helps to assess how diet affects health and disease condition


- Monitoring food and nutrient availability
- Helps in development of dietary guidelines e.g. for schools
- Estimating/comparing the nutrient content of food
- Identifying sources of particular nutrient
- Analyzing individual diet
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Limitations in the use of food composition database

- Variability in the composition of foods

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- Partial or limited coverage of food items
- Partial or limited coverage of nutrients
- Errors arising in database use
- Incompatibility of databases

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