Food composition data bases: New perspectives on an old topic

JOURNAL

OF FOOD COMF’OSITION

AND ANALYSIS

4, 1 (1991)

EDITORIAL Food Composition Data Bases: New Perspectives on an Old Topic Food composition data bases are a primary focus of two manuscripts in this issue of the Journal of Food Composition ‘and Analysis. As stated in the first editorial for this journal, “The human diet is a primary vehicle for our interaction with the environment. . . . Accurate knowledge of the chemical composition of foods is thus fundamental to the advancement of science in such areas as nutrition, food science, toxicology, epidemiology, and clinical chemistry.” Inherent in this statement is the concept that transmission of food composition information is a crucial part of the activity of those working in food composition and analysis. Yet there is little discussion in the scientific literature of the issues relating directly to the compilation of food composition data bases, which are the primary means of transmission of food composition data to most professionals in the field. Thus the journal is pleased to publish the paper on the development of research nutrient data bases by Murphy et al. and the INFOODS committee report on guidelines for describing foods by Truswell et al. The contrast between the two papers is considerable; one is philosophical and takes the broad view and the other takes the pragmatic approach of how to compile a data base for a specific society and culture. Yet what is striking are the common threads that run through both papers. The common concerns include issues such as the difficulty of moving between cultures on such topics as: How should common foods be named? What is the effect of culture and geography on food composition? How should one name novel foods? What is the best way to compile data bases given the high costs of current assays? How can we make complex systems usable? What is the best way to introduce self-correction into data bases? These are some of the crucial issues that must be resolved if food composition data are to be more useful in addressing the various societal problems related to the human diet. I hope that our readers will stop and consider the perspectives provided and benefit from the lessons presented in both papers. It would also be useful if our readers would ponder how to solve the unresolved issues related to the development of food composition data bases. JQNTKSTEWART Blacksburg,

Virginia,

U.S.A.

0889-1575191$3.00 Cbpyri&tQ 1991 byAc&kmicFnqInc. All rights of reproduction in my fm

rexned.