The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake

Food Chemistry xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

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The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake Subathira Sivakumaran ⇑, Lee Huffman, Sivalingam Sivakumaran The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 11600, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 29 April 2016 Received in revised form 30 November 2016 Accepted 20 December 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: New Zealand Food Composition Database FOODfiles Food composition data INFOODS Food analysis Analytical programme

a b s t r a c t A country-specific food composition databases is useful for assessing nutrient intake reliably in national nutrition surveys, research studies and clinical practice. The New Zealand Food Composition Database (NZFCDB) programme seeks to maintain relevant and up-to-date food records that reflect the composition of foods commonly consumed in New Zealand following Food Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations/International Network of Food Data Systems (FAO/INFOODS) guidelines. Food composition data (FCD) of up to 87 core components for approximately 600 foods have been added to NZFCDB since 2010. These foods include those identified as providing key nutrients in a 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey. Nutrient data obtained by analysis of composite samples or are calculated from analytical data. Currently >2500 foods in 22 food groups are freely available in various NZFCDB output products on the website: www.foodcomposition.co.nz. NZFCDB is the main source of FCD for estimating nutrient intake in New Zealand nutrition surveys. Ó 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction Food composition databases (FCDBs) provide accurate data on the food composition of foods that can be used by health professionals, dietitians, government policy makers, industry, the research community, schools, universities, marketing professionals, and the general public. The country-specific food composition databases (FCDBs) are constructed with food composition data (FCD) of foods consumed by the population and is essential for estimating accurate nutritional status for a country. Food consumption pattern, types of foods consumed by the population and food production environment etc. are varied from country to country. Therefore using the food composition data from other country FCDB for estimating national nutrient intake will lead to wrong decision in terms of national nutrient related policies e.g. food and nutrient guidelines, improve diet for certain population etc. NZFCDB is the major source of food composition data (FCD) in New Zealand (NZ) and extensively used by the Ministry of Health (MoH), a joint owner of the database with The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (PFR). The partnership between PFR and MoH was initiated in mid-1980s. Since then there has been significant development. The NZFCDB-derived NZ FOOD⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Sivakumaran), [email protected] (L. Huffman), Siva.Sivakumaran@plantandfood. co.nz (S. Sivakumaran).

files have been updated 19 times since 1989, and The Concise NZ Food Composition Tables (Concise Tables) have been updated 11 times since 1993. The last three updates (2011, 2013 and 2014) and the current version (2015) are freely available on the website www.foodcomposition.co.nz (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2011a). Earlier versions of these products (1989–2006) were published on CD-ROM and as printed Concise Tables.

1.1. The importance of country-specific food composition databases The maintenance and continual updating of food composition information within a national database is an expensive process. One may ask the question why a small country should maintain a national FCDB if FCD are readily available online from other countries’ databases, e.g. USA (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, & Nutrient Data Laboratory, 2015). There are a number of reasons for this, such as plant and animal varieties specific to NZ, e.g. NZ GreenshellTM mussels. The NZ food production environment can also mean that commonly consumed unprocessed foods can have different nutrient contents compared with those same foods produced overseas. For example, NZ soils tend to be deficient in selenium and iodine, and NZ animal husbandry practices differ from those in many other countries. In NZ most cows are fed on grass rather than on grain or mixed feeds, which affects fat-soluble components in meat and milk. Food

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066 0308-8146/Ó 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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exports, including meat and milk, are a key element of the NZ economy and it is valuable for overseas authorities and customers to have access to nutrient information for NZ products. NZ has different fortification practices to other countries. As an example many countries have mandatory fortification for folic acid: USA has had mandatory fortification of all cereal/grain flours with folic acid since 1998 (Crider, Bailey, & Berry, 2011); in Canada, white flour and pasta have been mandatorily fortified since 1998 (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008), and Australia introduced mandatory fortification of bread-making flour in late 2009 (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2012b). To date, UK and NZ allow voluntary fortification of certain foods with folic acid (EFSA, 2009; Ministry of Health, 2016). There are some food product formulations that are NZ-specific: it is not uncommon for product ranges to have different specifications for NZ compared to other markets including Australia. For example, in manufacturing MiloÒ in Australia, Nestlé use different recipes for the NZ and Australian markets (NZ-destined Milo has a higher proportion of cocoa than the Australian product). National nutrition surveys inform national health policies, food and nutritional guidelines; they aid in monitoring health and nutritional status of the population. Also inform assessment of guidelines for food safety, nutrients fortification and food labelling in NZ. The combination of unique foods and unique nutrient profiles means that country-specific FCD are especially valuable in assessing nutrient intake in national nutritional surveys (Ministry of Health, 2003a; University of Otago & Ministry of Health, 2011). Data from NZFCDB have underpinned four national nutrition surveys that have been undertaken among adult New Zealanders: the 1977 National Diet Survey (Birkbeck, 1983), the 1989 Life in New Zealand (LINZ) Survey (Russell & Wilson, 1991),the 1997 National Nutrient Survey (NNS) (Russell, Parnell, & Wilson, 1999), and the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey (NZANS) (University of Otago, 2011). NZFCDB has also been used for the 2002 National Children’s Nutrition Survey (Ministry of Health, 2003b). This paper describes the evolution of NZFCDB with up-to-date information on food composition of foods consumed by the NZ population since 2010. Also demonstrates how NZFCDB was used as a tool for estimating nutrient intake in the recent national nutrient survey (2008/09 NZANS).

2. About the NZFCDB 2.1. NZFCDB construction The NZFCDB has three main internally-developed components: 1) The database itself – a relational database (Microsoft SQL Server) with some executable stored procedures 2) Food Information Management System (FIMS) – a Java-based Web application and the primary data entry and editing mechanism for NZFCDB. FIMS also contains the code for recipe and attribute calculations. 3) NZFCDB Auxiliary – a PHP-based web application that runs independently of FIMS for generating NZFCDB associated products (Section 3.2), and enabling bulk data entry. NZFCDB and the software application FIMS were both developed in the early 2000s. The FCDB Auxiliary was developed around 2010. FIMS replaced an MS-DOS based Advanced Revelation 3.1 (Arev) application developed in the late 1980s.

2.1.1. Food record and descriptions Each food record in FCDB represents a unique food or beverage and has a distinct name. Each food is also uniquely identified by an alpha-numeric FoodID: a single letter denoting the major food

groups followed by one to four digits (e.g. L1077). There are 22 food groups in NZFCDB (Table 1). We follow the INFOODS multi-faceted naming system (Truswell et al., 1991) when constructing the names of the foods used in NZFCDB: generic name (e.g. bread, milk), kind (e.g. white, wholemeal), physical state (e.g. fluid, powdered, raw), process (e.g. boiled), parts (e.g. flesh and seed), brand or variety and fortificants (e.g. ‘Spread, yeast extract, Marmite, Sanitarium, fortified vitamins B1, B2, B3, B12 & folate & Fe’). The scientific name (plant and animal origin), alternative name, descriptions of the food sampling and component source information are also documented in NZFCDB. 2.1.2. Food components Each food component is uniquely identified by an INFOODS tagname. Tagnames are compiled by an expert committee under the auspices of INFOODS, and allocated to unique food components (Klensin, Feskanich, Lin, Truswell, & Southgate, 1989). The INFOODS tagnames incorporate the component entity, the method of analysis where this is specific to the result (e.g. dietary fibre methodologies), and the default unit of measure. As INFOODS tagnames are not available for some of the food components recorded in NZFCDB it has adopted ‘Component Identifiers’ (Table 2). The ‘Component Identifier’ includes the available INFOODS tagname or, if there is no tagname, a label generated by following a similar convention to the INFOODS tagnames (FAO/INFOODS, 2012b; Klensin et al., 1989). Table 1 Food groups in the New Zealand Food Composition Database. Group

Food group

Includes information

A

Bakery products

B C

Beverages, alcoholic Beverages, nonalcoholic

D

Breakfast cereals

E F

Cereals and pseudocereals Dairy

G H

Eggs Fast foods

J

Fats and oils

K L M

Fin fishes Fruits Meats

N P

Meat products Miscellaneous

Q R

Nuts and seeds Recipes

S

Sauces and condiments Shellfishes

Breads, biscuits, muffins, pizza bases and cakes Beers, port, sherry, spirits and wines Drink concentrates and powders, energy drinks, fruit drinks, fruit juices, smoothies, liquid breakfast, rice milks, soy milks, teas, coffees and soft drinks Extruded cereals, mixed grain cereals and mueslis Cereal constituents, flours, noodles, pastas, rice, tempeh and tofu Butters, cheeses, ice creams, milks, protein powder, yoghurts Chicken eggs – cooked and raw Burgers, chain store takeaways, Chinese takeaways, fries, Indian takeaways, pizzas, savoury items Cooking and salad oils, margarines, shortenings Fresh and canned fishes Fruits raw, dried, canned and stewed Variety of meat cuts and types from beef, chicken, lamb, pork, venison, etc. raw and cooked Cured meats, sausages Salts, stocks, yeast and yeast spreads; spices and herbs Nuts, seeds and its products Multiple ingredients recipes, derived from recipe calculation using weight yield and nutrient retention factors Dressings, dips, tomato sauces, simmer sauces, soy sauces Cockles, crab, mussels, prawns, scallops, squid Chips, muesli bars, popcorns Soup dry mix and soup prepared Chocolates, jams, lollies, Nutella, marmalade, sugars

T U V W

X

Snack foods Soups Sugars, confectionaries and sweet spreads Vegetables and pulses

Raw and cooked

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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S. Sivakumaran et al. / Food Chemistry xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Table 2 Core components for the New Zealand Food Composition Database.a Component Identifier

Component Name

Units

Energy ENERC ENERC_FSANZ1 ENERC_FSANZ1_KCAL ENERC_FSANZ2 ENERC_FSANZ2_KCAL ENERC_KCAL ENERC1 ENERC1_KCAL

Energy, Energy, Energy, Energy, Energy, Energy, Energy, Energy,

kJ/100 g kJ/100 g kcal/100 g kJ/100 g kcal/100 g kcal/100 g kJ/100 g kcal/100 g

Macronutrients (include proximate) WATER FAT PROT FRUS GLUS LACS MALS SUCS SUGAR STARCH FIBINS FIBSOL FIBTG CHOAVL CHOAVL_FSANZ CHOAVLDF CHOAVLDF_FSANZ CHOAVLM CHOCDF CHOCSM ASH ALC

Water Fat, total Protein, total; calculated from total nitrogen Fructose Glucose Lactose Maltose Sucrose Sugars, total Starch, total Fibre, water-insoluble Fibre, water-soluble Fibre, total dietary Available carbohydrates by weight Available carbohydrate, FSANZ Available carbohydrate by difference Carbohydrate by difference, FSANZ Available carbohydrates in monosaccharide equivalent Total carbohydrate by difference Total carbohydrates by summation Ash Alcohol

g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g

Vitamins VITA CARTA CARTB CARTBEQ RETOL THIA RIBF NIA NIAEQ NIATRP VITB6A FOL FOLAC FOLDFE FOLFD VITB12 VITC VITD TOCPHA TOCPHB TOCPHD TOCPHG VITE

Vitamin A, retinol equivalents Alpha-carotene Beta-carotene Beta-carotene equivalents Retinol Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin, preformed Niacin equivalents, total Niacin equivalents from tryptophan Vitamin B6 Folate, total Folic acid, synthetic folic acid Dietary folate equivalents Folate food, naturally occurring food folates Vitamin B12 Vitamin C Vitamin D; calculated by summation Alpha-tocopherol Beta-tocopherol Delta-tocopherol Gamma-tocopherol Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol equivalents

lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g

Minerals & elements CA CU FE ID K MG MN NA P SE NA ZN

Calcium Copper Iron Iodide Potassium Magnesium Manganese Sodium Phosphorus Selenium Sodium Zinc

mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g lg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g lg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g lg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g

Macronutrient fractions F18D2CN6 F18D2CN9T11

Fatty acid cis,cis 18:2 omega-6 Fatty acid cis, trans 18:2 omega-9, 11

g/100 g g/100 g

total total total total total total total total

metabolisable (kJ) metabolisable, carbohydrate by difference, FSANZ (kJ) metabolisable, carbohydrate by difference, FSANZ (kcal) metabolisable, available carbohydrate, FSANZ (kJ) metabolisable, available carbohydrate, FSANZ (kcal) metabolisable (kcal) metabolisable (kJ, including dietary fibre) metabolisable (kcal, including dietary fibre)

mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g lg/100 g mg/100 g lg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g mg/100 g

(continued on next page)

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Table 2 (continued) Component Identifier

Component Name

Units

F18D3N3 F20D4N3 F20D5N3 F22D5N3 F22D6N3 FALCPUN3 FAMS FAPU FAPUN3 FAPUN6 FASAT FATRN

Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty Fatty

g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g g/100 g

Others CHOLE CAFFN DM NT TRP

Cholesterol Caffeine Dry matter Nitrogen, total Tryptophan

mg/100 g mg/100 g g/100 g g/100 g mg/100 g

Derived components EDIBLE DEN CSM

Edible portion Density Common Standard Measure

% g/cm3 g

acid 18:3 omega-3 acid 20:4 omega-3 acid 20:5 omega-3 acid 22:5 omega-3 acid 22:6 omega-3 acids, total long chain polyunsaturated omega-3 acids, total monounsaturated acids, total polyunsaturated acids, total polyunsaturated omega-3 acids, total polyunsaturated omega-6 acids, total saturated acids, total trans

a Includes the available INFOODS tagname or, if there is no tagname, a label generated by following a similar convention to the INFOODS tagnames (FAO/INFOODS, 2012b; Klensin et al., 1989). FSANZ – Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

2.1.3. Source code – food composition data (FCD) The derivation source of each FCD is indicated by one or more source codes (each a letter of the alphabet). There are five ways to obtain FCD for NZFCDB: direct chemical analysis of a NZ food (source code ‘z’); data derived by calculation (source code ‘c’); data imputed from a related or similar food (source code ‘r’); data derived from other sources (source coded as: ‘u’ for U.S. Department of Agriculture (2015), ‘a’ for Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2011), ‘b’ for Finglas et al. (2015); ‘d’ for e.g. general conversion factors from Greenfield and Southgate (2003) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation (2003); and presumed zero based on scientific knowledge of the component in a food (source code ‘p’). Combinations of source codes, for example ‘cdz’ for ‘protein, total’ represent that the data is derived by multiplication (‘c’) of the nitrogen to protein conversion factor from Greenfield and Southgate (2003) (‘d’) and NZ analytical data (‘z’) of ‘nitrogen total’. 2.2. NZFCDB analytical programme In response to changes in NZ products and offerings and to remain current for the purposes of the national nutrition surveys, NZFCDB programme selects foods and beverages to update or add according to established criteria (Section 2.3). Between 50 and 100 foods are analysed each year, and NZFCDB’s 87 core food components are assessed for each food (see Table 2). Seven major steps are entailed in generating food records within NZFCDB analytical programme (Fig. 1). 2.3. Prioritising foods Updating the database with foods is potentially a never-ending process. It is a challenge for database compilers to keep up to date with all the commonly eaten foods available on the market. In the recent 2008/09 NZANS, there were approximately 12,000 distinct food items recorded by survey participants (University of Otago, 2011). It is not practical for NZFCDB compilers to include a dataset for distinct foods, which is why NZFCDB tends to include generic datasets.

Our strategy is to include a range of commonly eaten foods and/ or foods that contribute substantially to nutrients of interest (Fig. 2). In the annual prioritisation process several factors are taken into account – particularly the food consumption data collected for the 2008/09 NZANS; introduction of new, reformulated foods in the market place; discontinued foods; and replacement of outdated data or borrowed food records from other sources. Also considered are foods that may contribute to non-communicable diseases (e.g. high-fat foods) and improvement in micronutrient deficiencies e.g. fortified foods with micronutrients. 2.4. Sampling plan The majority of the foods are purchased from supermarkets, however primary products e.g. fruits, vegetables and meats may be procured from other sources such as grower stalls and markets. A sampling plan is developed and assessed critically to ensure that the foods purchased are representative of food available to the public. The sampling procedures and subsequent sample preparation and handling prior to submission to the accredited analytical laboratories are set out in the in house NZFCDB procedures manual. 2.4.1. Representative sampling protocols National or regional sampling protocols (as appropriate) are implemented to prepare a representative sample based on compilers’ knowledge of the foods being studied. National food sampling protocols are typically used for manufactured foods, which are produced at a single or small number of sites, or imported foods that are distributed nationally (e.g. breakfast cereals which are uniformly available throughout NZ). These foods are not expected to exhibit any regional variability, so the product in one region will be much the same as that in another region. Such foods are therefore sampled from three or more supermarkets in the region where the compilers are based. Regional food sampling protocols are used for foods most likely to be produced, processed and consumed in regions near the consumption centre (e.g. fresh vegetables) where the method of production or the environment they are grown in may introduce some variability in product composition. These regional or seasonal foods are sampled from major retail outlets

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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Prioritised foods consumed by NZ population

Representative sample

Sample plan

Data validation

Accredited laboratories Validated analytical methods

Analytical plan 87 core components

FAO/INFOODS & FSANZ standards

NZFCDB products www.foodcomposition.co.nz

Fig. 1. Outline of the New Zealand Food Composition Database analytical programme – update of food records (FAO/INFOODS – Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations/International Networks of Food Data Systems. FSANZ – Food Standards Australia New Zealand and NZFCDB – New Zealand Food Composition Database).

Fig. 2. Strategy used for prioritising foods for inclusion in the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

throughout a number of regions, focussing on the five most highly populated regions: Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington, Waikato and Manawatu that represent about 75% of the NZ population (Statistics New Zealand, 2013).

Nielsen Market Information Digest (MID), 2016 (where available) or estimation of the shelf space allocation for brands and/or ranges in major retail outlets. This type of sample analysis produces a generic dataset for a food that is not specific to brand, variety or type.

2.4.2. Representative composite samples Representative samples are prepared by combining the individual samples into a single or multiple composite sample for analysis (Cunningham, 1990). Single composite sample analysis is carried out for a specific food (brand or brand variant) that has a unique nutrient composition and contributes substantially to nutrients of interest. Multiple composite samples are used for similar foods with core food components that make minimal contribution to diet or have similar ingredients. A single composite sample is prepared by mixing several individual unit samples of a product from a brand or variety, e.g. a single composite made up of ‘Marmite’ yeast spread from several different jars. The single composite sample provides specific food composition for a single food, but it masks any variation among the units sampled. A multiple composite sample is prepared from similar product units from different seasons, regions, varieties, brands, etc. by compositing them based on the market share data from sources such as

2.5. Analytical plan A complete dataset of 87 core components (Table 2) is determined for each food. These core components include energy, macronutrients (proximate), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), derived components (density, edible portion and common standard measure (CSM)), macronutrient fractions (fatty acids of fats and mono- and di-saccharides of sugars) and some components expressed in different units and/or calculations.

2.5.1. Analysis and calculation of food composition data All chemical analysis for food components is undertaken by accredited laboratories in NZ and Australia. They are accredited by independent science-based organisations that have authority to grant accreditation: International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ, 2015) and the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA, 2015). Accredited laboratories have their own quality assurance programmes in place.

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The majority of the core components values are obtained by direct chemical analysis or calculated from the chemical analytical values with or without using the conversion factors. Analytical methods used by the accredited laboratories are detailed in the NZ FOODfiles 2014 Manual (Sivakumaran, Huffman, Gilmore, & Sivakumaran, 2015). Energy and carbohydrate contents are calculated in different ways according to Standard 1.2.8 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2012a) and guidelines of FAO/INFOODS (2012c).The calculation algorithms for energy, carbohydrate, sugar total, protein total, fatty acids, beta-carotene equivalents, vitamin A, niacin equivalent from tryptophan, niacin equivalent total, vitamin E (expressed as alphatocopherol equivalents), dietary folate equivalents, etc. with the general conversion factors are described in the FOODfiles 2014 Manual (Sivakumaran et al., 2015). In NZFCDB some of the food component values are presumed zero where a food is not recognised to be a source of that food component e.g. dietary fibre value is zero for the food items raw egg and milks. There are a number of ‘recipe’ entries in NZFCDB. FCD is generated for such recipe food records by calculations including the yield factors (YF, weight, water and fat) and nutrition retention factors (NRF) for the associated cooking methods of the ingredients. The calculation is automated in FIMS. The recipes include both single ingredient and multiple-ingredient recipes. The recipe calculation method is a ‘‘Mixed method” (FAO/INFOODS, 2012b) where NRFs are applied at the individual ingredient level and the YFs (water and fat) are applied at the recipe level. Most of the YFs have been determined by analysis and NRFs are taken from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, & Nutrient Data Laboratory (2007) as described in the FOODfiles 2014 Manual (Sivakumaran et al., 2015). Household measures and weights (Common Standard Measures, CSM) of a food item are used to describe the standard quantities for research, nutritional planning and guidelines. CSM are either expressed as NZ metric standards (e.g. one cup – 250 ml) or as the amount commonly purchased (e.g. one chocolate bar) or eaten (e.g. one slice bread). Density is measured as specific gravity, mass density, bulk density, water displacement and/or rapeseed displacement methods (AACC International, 2000; FAO/INFOODS, 2012a). 2.6. Data evaluation and validation Following receipt of analytical results and completion of calculations, all FCD are validated by checking similar foods and/or ingredients in NZFCDB and published sources (particularly international FCDBs). The data quality checks are performed according to FAO/INFOODS guidelines (FAO/INFOODS, 2012b) before populating the dataset in NZFCDB and disseminating the products on the website. 3. Programme outcomes

3.1.1. NZ FOODfiles The NZ FOODfiles 2014 Version 01 (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2015a) contains eight files (Fig. 3). These are available in two formats: as tilde delimited ASCII text files and as Microsoft Office ExcelÒ files. The data files contain the complete presentation of 87 core components for 2574 foods in the standard version and up to 360 components for 2574 foods in the unabridged version. The unabridged version and some of the food records in the standard version do not contain values for every single component for every single food. All 2574 foods have complete datasets of the 65 core components as of 2014 (Table 2) including energy, proximate components, vitamins, minerals, derived components (edible portion) and other components (caffeine and cholesterol). The individual fatty acids values are not reported for some of the foods and fatty acid profile also differs. The remaining core components have data for limited foods. They are alpha- and beta-carotenoids (75% and 83% respectively), omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (14–47%), soluble and insoluble dietary fibre (53% each), tocopherols (10– 60%), tryptophan (41%) and CSM (92%). In the current programme (2015–16), all foods have complete sets of data for the core components in Table 2. The DATA.FT file provides information on derivation source/s for each food component (identified with component identifier). DATA.AP is an alternative format of the DATA.FT files and contains additional information including food group code (Table 3), food name, component name and unit(s) of measurement. In the CSM. FT files the measures are either expressed as NZ metric standards or as the amount commonly purchased or eaten. All the measurements are made on an edible portion, so no adjustment is necessary to account for an inedible portion. The CSM.FT files also contain densities for most of the foods. It should be noted that there may be more than one CSM for any particular food. The INGREDIENT.FT file contains the FoodIDs of the recipes and associated ingredient/s and their food names. It also contains fraction (%) of the ingredient, identifier (ID) for the NRF and cooking method used in that particular recipe. The NAME.FT file includes information on names associated with each food, for example common name (generic, kind, and strain), parts, process, scientific name, description of the food (fortification, origin, ingredients, etc.) and sampling and component details. The CODE.FT file is similar to Table 2 but contains more food components for the unabridged version. The NRF.FT file contains the NRF for selected nutrients and associated IDs used in INGREDIENT.FT files. The YF.FT files provide the data for Water YF, Fat YF and Weight YF for the foods derived by recipe calculation method. Also included is the source code for Weight YF. Update files indicate changes from the previous version of the FOODfiles including new foods added, archived foods, and food components updated. The FOODfiles manual (Sivakumaran et al., 2015) provides instructions for how to use the FOODfiles and other NZFCDBassociated products.

3.1. NZFCDB website (www.foodcomposition.co.nz)

3.1.2. Concise Tables The Concise Tables provide information from NZFCDB in PDF and Microsoft Office ExcelÒ files formats (Sivakumaran, Huffman, & Sivakumaran, 2015). They contain data on key nutrients for commonly consumed foods and are intended to provide a quick reference. The latest version (11th Edition 2014) contains data for 36 components for 1013 foods. Nutrient information is based on both a 100-g edible portion and one or more CSM for each food.

From November 2011 NZFCDB-associated products have been freely available on the website (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2011a).

3.1.3. Nutrition Information Panel New Zealand FCD for Nutrition Information Panel (NZFCDB-NIP) is an online tool (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food

A number of useful information products are generated from NZFCDB. These are the primary mechanism by which the data are made available to consumers; the database itself is not publicly accessible at present.

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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NZ FOODfiles Principal files (Excel & ASCII)

DATA files (AP & FT)

CSM.FT

Supporng files (Excel & ASCII)

INGREDIENT.FT

Update files

Manual

NAME.FT

Standard

CODE.FT

Unabridged

NRF.FT

YF.FT

Fig. 3. New Zealand FOODfiles download layout – for more information about the content of files identified in this Fig., refer to the text.

Research Limited, 2015b) designed to assist food manufacturers in estimating NIPs for their products. It presents seven mandatory components — energy, protein, fat, total, fat saturated, carbohydrates, sugars, sodium plus dietary fibre — for 2574 food records according to Standard 1.2.8 of Australia New Zealand Food Standard Code (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2012a). It also includes a search function for matching specific keywords or Food IDs. 3.2. Food analysis in the NZFCDB programme Most of the FCD in NZFCDB are mean data from a representative composite sample (Section 2.4.1). These data do not show how the variation among regions, seasons, cultivars, and other factors affect the composition of most foods. However, the procedure does take potential variability into consideration when producing a single set of data for a food record. From 2011 to 2014, 560 food records were added or updated in NZFCDB (Table 3). They were disseminated in NZFCDB associated products on the website (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2011a) in April 2013, 2014 and 2015 (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2013, 2014, 2015a). Of these 560 foods, 56% were new food entries, and the remaining 44% of foods were replacements for data that were analysed >10 years ago or food values borrowed from other sources. Fifty-five percent of the FCD were derived from a NZ analytical programme; 41% were derived by calculation (recipe or aggregation) usually from the analytical data; and only 4% were borrowed from other sources in 2012. The majority of borrowed data are for imported foods such as sesame oil, herbs (basil & oregano), poppy seeds, cashew nuts, prawns, and kidney beans that are not produced in NZ. The current work programme (2015–16) will result in an additional 190 food records being added to the NZFCDB (Table 3). In terms of the number of new foods compared with replacement of older records, the trend is similar to that in 2011–14, with 57% of foods being new and 43% being replacement data (reanalysis of older foods and replacing data borrowed from other FCDBs). Most notably, the proportion of FCD derived by analysis will increase from 55% to 76% and the proportion derived by calculation (recipe or aggregation) will reduce from 41% to 24%. There will be no borrowed data for these foods.

3.3. 2008/09 NZANS – survey food composition dataset The 2008/09 NZANS gathered information from approximately 4700 adult New Zealanders over 15 years old during the one year period from October 2008 to 2009. The survey included a 24-h dietary recall; questionnaires on dietary habits, health status and risk factors; measurements of body size and blood pressure; and biomedical tests (blood and urine) (University of Otago, 2011). Some of the countries maintain two separate databases for ‘reference’ (national database) and large set of dataset for ‘survey’ e.g. Australia has NUTTAB (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2011) as the ‘reference’ database and AUSNUT (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2014) as the ‘survey’ database. In NZ, both the ‘reference’ and ‘survey food’ composition data are maintained in one database, NZFCDB. The data set for foods are derived by analysis, calculation, borrowed, imputed and presumed zero. They are distinctively specified by source code/s. Data subsequently published in the NZ FOODfiles 2010 V01 (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2011b) were the main source of data for the 2008/09 NZANS and used to construct the survey food composition dataset (not publicly available). The dataset contains approximately 12,000 foods and beverages and 54 food components for each of these foods. These FCD were used to convert the 24-h dietary recall data to nutrient intake. Food consumption pattern of survey participants in the 2008/09 NZANS varied not only on the type of foods consumed, but also food preparation methods (e.g. peeled and unpeeled), recipe methods include special recipes for specific population (e.g. coconut milk is use as an ingredient in Pacific Island recipes) that influence the food composition of foods. Information was lacking on some of the nutrient contents of foods not commonly consumed (e.g. traditional diets, including indigenous foods). Any special foods or recipes that were not already available were analysed chemically (e.g. kava beverage) or the recipe was calculated from the available ingredients in NZFCDB and included in the survey dataset. 3.3.1. Food matching The NAME.FT file (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, 2011b) facilitated matching in the 2008/09 NZANS. There were 11,850 distinct foods reported by the survey participants (University of Otago, 2011). Of those food records 25% (ca. 3000) were derived from direct matching from the FOOD-

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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S. Sivakumaran et al. / Food Chemistry xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

Table 3 Summary of the foods analysed in the New Zealand Food Composition Database analytical programme in 2011–14 and current 2015–16. FOODfiles

New/Replaced

Derivation

Food Records

Type of foods

FOODfiles 2012 V01 a

New

By direct analysis

130

Recipe calculation Borrowed

89

By analysis

95

Recipe calculation Borrowed

94

Bakery products: breads added mixed grains and seeds (brand specific) and chocolate biscuits (brand specific). Beverages, non-alcoholic: kava, energy drinks, formulated water, sports drinks, energy food drinks, tea and coffee beverages; Cereals & pseudo-cereals: basmati rice and noodles; Dairy: chocolate ice cream and protein powder; Fats & oils: margarines, dripping, shortening and vegetable oils; Fruits: blueberry (fresh and frozen), plum, raspberries and kiwifruits; Meats: corned beef (brand specific); Miscellaneous: yeast spreads; Sauces and condiments: ketchup (regular and low salt); Shellfishes: mussels (raw, marinated, smoked and canned); Snack foods: nut bars; Sugars, confectionaries and sweet spreads: chocolate bars and compound chocolate and Vegetables and pulses: potato fries, Asian cabbages, mesclun salad, and kumara (NZ sweet potato - gold and orange). Meats: Assorted whole cuts for beef and lamb and Beverages, non-alcoholic: cafe variety coffees. Beverages, alcoholic: spirits; Cereals & pseudo-cereals: oats and taco shell; Shellfishes: molluscs and Vegetables and pulses: kidney beans, cucumber and gherkin. Bakery products: chocolate biscuits, Beverages, non-alcoholic: energy food drink, coffee powders and tea and coffee beverages; Breakfast cereals: ‘Weeties’, SanitariumTM and ‘Fruitful’, Hubbards; Fats and oils: shortenings, and oils (rice bran, canola, soya bean etc.); Fruits: blueberry; Meats: beef and lamb (assorted cuts and offal items); Shellfishes: mussels: Sugars, confectionaries and sweet spreads: chocolate bars and Vegetables and pulses: cucumber, courgette, spinach, capsicums, taro and kumara (NZ sweet potato - red). Meats: assorted whole cuts for beef and lamb and Vegetables and pulses: cooked

Reanalysed to replace borrowed or old food records

Total FOODfiles 2013 V01b

New

Reanalysed to replace borrowed or old food records

FOODfiles 2014 V01c

Current work (2015–16)

By direct analysis

12

10 430 32

Partial analysis & Recipe calculation

23

By direct analysis

18

Partial analysis & Recipe calculation

08

Total New

By direct analysis

09

New

Partial analysis & recipe calculation By direct analysis

Partial analysis & recipe calculation

07

Total New

By direct analysis

81 17

16

49 78

Fats and oils: sesame oil; Miscellaneous: herbs (basil & oregano), poppy seed, Nuts and seeds: cashew nut Shellfishes: prawn and Vegetables and pulses: kidney beans Bakery products: gluten free breads (white and grains & seeds); Beverage, nonalcoholic: nutritional beverages (liquid breakfast with assorted flavours and brands); Breakfast cereals: mixed grains and muesli with added fruits and/or nuts and wheat bran; Cereals and pseudo-cereals: noodles (Asian udon, shelf-fresh, prepared); Meats: chicken mince; Meat products: sausages (chicken and lamb); salami (fermented and acidulated); Sauces and condiments: soy (reduced salt) and sweet chilli; Vegetables and pulses: raw vegetables [NZ yam (red, mellow yellow and apricot delight), mushroom (Portobello)], canned vegetable (tomato paste, low salt) Meats: chicken mince (pan fried); Meats products: sausages, assorted cooking methods (beef, pork, chicken and lamb); Vegetables and pulses: assorted cooking methods (NZ yam, eggplant, mushroom (Portobello), celery, Brussels sprout and parsnip. Beverage, non-alcoholic: nutritional beverages (liquid breakfast); Breakfast cereals: mixed grains with added fruits; Fruits: banana; Meat products: sausages (beef and pork, luncheon); Vegetables and pulses: raw vegetables [NZ yam (red), eggplant, celery, Brussels sprout, and parsnip], canned vegetables (beetroot and tomato paste). Meat products: sausages assorted cooking methods (beef and pork), salami; Vegetables and pulses: assorted cooking methods (NZ yam, eggplant, celery, Brussels sprout, parsnip). Breakfast cereals: mixed grain flakes with dry fruits; Dairy: yoghurts sweetened with added fruits (premium, dessert and drink), yoghurt strained (Greek style), whole milk (4% fat), ultra-filtered low fat milk; Fin fishes: canned tuna in oil, brine or spring water (undrained either plain or flavoured). Vegetables and pulses: assorted cooking methods (asparagus. beans, silverbeet, carrot and pumpkin). Dairy: yoghurts sweetened with added fruits (non-fat, low-fat, regular fat), Fin fishes: canned tuna in oil, brine or spring water (drained. plain); Vegetables and pulses: raw vegetables (asparagus. beans, silverbeet, carrot and pumpkin). Vegetables and pulses: assorted cooking methods (beans, silverbeet, carrot and pumpkin) and raw (asparagus). Bakery products: crumpets, bagels and scones; Beverage, non-alcoholic: juice (orange), fruit drink (cranberry and blackcurrant), carbonated soft drinks (cola, lemonade, fruits flavours) and tea flavoured drink; Cereals & pseudo-cereals: Pasta & sauce dry mix; canned creamed rice, precooked dry pasta (white and wholemeal), couscous (wholemeal); Dairy: cheese [feta (from cow reduced fat, goat), halloumi and ricotta (reduced fat)] and ice cream; Fast food: pie (mince & cheese, chicken and egg & bacon); Fin fishes: frozen (hoki and basa); salmon [fillet (cooked) smoked (hot and cold) and canned (assorted flavours)]; Fruits; canned [peach (in light syrup and unsweetened), pineapple (in light syrup)’ apricot drained (in juice and light syrup), fruit salad (in juice, in light syrup, in syrup and unsweetened)], apple (‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Braeburn’)]; Meat products: raw bacon (middle, shoulder and streaky); Recipes: bolognaise [sauce and meal (spaghetti and meat base)], chilli con carne [Mexicanstyle (beans and mince) and meal (with corn chips], pikelet, pancake, custard pudding

Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

S. Sivakumaran et al. / Food Chemistry xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

9

Table 3 (continued) FOODfiles

New/Replaced

Reanalysed to replace borrowed or old food records

Total a b c

Derivation

Food Records

Partial analysis & recipe calculation

31

By direct analysis

66

Partial analysis & recipe calculation

15

Type of foods (with standard milk and whole milk); banana cake (with and without icing), ratatouille; Vegetables and pulses: canned tomato (plain and assorted flavours), canned beans (chickpea, red kidney bean, mixed beans, cannellini bean and beans in chilli sauce), potato [ floury (raw and fried in oil),waxy (raw)]; kale (raw). Cereals & pseudo-cereals: cooked [Pasta & sauce, couscous (wholemeal)]; Fin fishes: frozen, cooked (hoki and basa); Fruits: canned drained and/or undrained [peach (in juice, light syrup and in syrup), pineapple (in juice, light syrup and in syrup),’ apricot (in juice, light syrup and in syrup), fruit salad (in syrup)], apple (‘Granny Smith’ and combined varieties), orange, dried apricot; Meat products: cooked bacon (middle, shoulder and streaky); Vegetables and pulses: onion (sautéed), spring onion (sautéed), potato [ floury (mashed, with milk & butter, milk & margarine, baked), waxy (boiled)], sweet corn (microwaved) and kale (sautéed). Bakery products: chapati, naan, and rolls or buns (plain and wholemeal); Beverage, non-alcoholic: juice (orange), fruit drink (orange, cranberry and blackcurrant), carbonated soft drinks (cola and lemonade); Cereals & pseudo-cereals: pasta (white and wholemeal); couscous (white); Dairy: cheese [feta (from cow), parmesan and ricotta]; Fats & oils: coconut oil; Fin fishes: salmon [fillet (raw) and canned (plain)]; Nuts and seeds: peanut butter (salted, no salt & sugar added and salt & sugar added) and nuts (hazelnut, walnut and almonds); Vegetables and pulses: canned tomato (no salt added); fresh & raw vegetables (cauliflower, onion, sweetcorn, leek, beetroot and swede), frozen raw vegetables (pea and sweetcorn) and tofu. Cereals & pseudo-cereals: cooked (pasta couscous wholemeal); Fin fishes: salmon aggregated (smoked hot and cold); Meat products: bacon aggregated (raw and cooked); Vegetables and pulses: cooked (cauliflower, pea, tofu, sweetcorn, leek, beetroot and swede).

190

The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (2013). The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (2014). The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (2015a).

files; 32% (ca. 3800) were branded products that were matched with a combination of food records from the FOODfiles, data from the Manufactured Food Database (2011) and the commercial products’ Nutrition Information Panel (NIP); 42% (ca. 4900) were derived by recipe calculation; 0.6% (ca.70) foods were chemically analysed for the FCD; and 0.5% (ca. 60) were matched from international FCDBs (FAO/INFOODS, 2014).

tary: Catherine Kingston, Matthew Laurenson, Jack McKenzie, Andrew McLachlan and Franky Andrews. These accredited laboratories in NZ and Australia: AsureQuality, Hill Laboratories, Eurofins, Massey University, AgResearch and National Measurement Institute provided the analytical composition results.

4. Summary

AACC International (2000). Method 10-05.01. Guidelines for measurement of volume by rapeseed displacement. In Approved Methods of Analysis. St. Paul, MN, USA: AACC International. Birkbeck, J. B. (1983). New Zealanders and their diet: A report to the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand on the National Diet Survey, 1977. Otago: University of Otago. Crider, K. S., Bailey, L. B., & Berry, R. J. (2011). Folic acid food fortification—Its history, effect, concerns, and future directions. Nutrients, 3(3), 370–384. http://dx.doi. org/10.3390/nu3030370. Cunningham, J. H. (1990). Sampling of foods for nutrient composition studies. Food Australia, 42(8), S16–S17. EFSA (2009). ESCO report prepared by the EFSA scientific cooperation working group on analysis of risks and benefits of fortification of food with folic Acid. Retrieved April 6, 2015 from http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/scientific_ output/files/main_documents/3e.pdf. FAO/INFOODS (2012a). FAO/INFOODS density database – version 2.0.. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from . FAO/INFOODS (2012b). FAO/INFOODS guidelines for checking food composition data prior to the publication of a user table/database – Version 1.0.. Retrieved January 6, from . FAO/INFOODS (2012c). FAO/INFOODS guidelines for converting units, denominators and expressions – Version 1.0. Retrieved Janauary 6, from http://www.fao.org/3/ a-ap809e.pdf. FAO/INFOODS (2014). International food composition table/database directory. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tablesand-databases/en/. Finglas, P. M., Roe, M. A., Pinchen, H. M., Berry, R., Church, S. M., Dodhia, S. K., et al. . McCance and Widdowson’s composition of foods integrated dataset. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/composition-of-foods-integrated-dataset-cofid. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation. (2003). Food and Nutrition Paper 77: Food energy methods of analysis and conversion factors. Retrieved January 10, 2012 from www.fao.org/ DOCREP/006/Y5022E/Y5022E00.HTM. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2011). NUTTAB 2010 – Australian food composition tables. Retrieved May 12, 2011 from http://

The NZFCDB is a main source of FCD in NZ and is used in the national nutrition surveys. Every year, approximately 100 foods are updated in accordance with the FAO/INFOODS guidelines. Approximately 600 food records have been added or updated since 2010. The proportion of FCD derived by analysis has increased from 55% to 76% in the current programme. Output products of NZFCDB FOODfiles, Concise tables and NIP database are regularly updated and disseminated on a public website www.foodcomposition.co. nz. The last four releases were in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The current FOODfiles contains information for >2500 foods in 22 categories with 87 core components in the standard version and up to 360 components in the unabridged version. NZFCDB is a country-specific FCDB and contains details information on food composition for commonly consumed foods by the New Zealand population. The NZFCDB programme is continuously updating foods and is a useful tool for estimating nutrient intake at national, regional and/or certain population levels in NZ. Acknowledgements We acknowledge the Ministry of Health (MoH) for providing funding to update the NZFCDB. The contribution made by Zane Gilmore, PFR Technical Expert and Software Developer, towards the ongoing operation and upgrading of NZFCDB is gratefully acknowledged. The following experts from MoH: Maria Turley and PFR contributed to NZFCDB programme or provided commen-

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Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066

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Please cite this article in press as: Sivakumaran, S., et al. The New Zealand Food Composition Database: A useful tool for assessing New Zealanders’ nutrient intake. Food Chemistry (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.066