The New Zealand food composition data bases

B.A. Burlingame

Barbara Burlingame is the Food & Nutrition Programme Leader, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Private Bag, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

DSIR Biotechnology is the site of New Zealand's national nutritional data bases and one of its main centres for nutrient compositional analyses. The data base project has been developed and maintained in conjunction with a systematic nutrient analysis project. Both are ongoing, with constant updating. This overview of New Zealand's direction in the area of nutritional information systems covers the information structure, groups involved and their roles, work completed to date, problems encountered, and future prospects.

Information structure

Nutritional information systems require involvement at international, regional (Oceania) and national levels. As does Australia, New Zealand participates in a United Nations University program called INFOODS (the International Network of Food Data Systems), headquartered at Harvard University, USA. The purpose of this group is to make recommendations and establish protocols for the compilation of nutritional information systems. An early activity of INFOODS was the establishment of regional groups throughout the world. New Zealand became part of OCEANIAFOODS, along with Australia, member countries of the South Pacific Commission, and Papua New Guinea.

There are three New Zealand nutritional data bases: the Main food and feed database, the NZ food composition database, and the NZ therapeutic database of brand-name foods. Each has been designed for specific purposes with unique features and capabilities.

The main database of food and feed

The Main database was developed using recommendations and design criteria from the International Feed Information Centre (INFIC) (Lelystad, The Netherlands). Data on both human foods and animal feeds are entered into this data base and the staff are able to search the data base at the request of a client. New Zealand is possibly the only country associated with INFOODS which developed its food composition data base from a foundation of an animal feed data base. This did have some advantages, including on-site personnel familiar with computerised nutritional data systems.

The NZ food composition database

The NZ food composition database contains nutrient composition on 1122 human foods in 22 categories. Of these foods, 42 percent are based on New Zealand source data and five percent are based on Australian data from literature sources (Wills & others, 1981a, 1981b, Wills & Greenfield 1982, Greenfield & others 1981, 1982) and appropriately referenced in the user's guide (Burlingame & Milligan 1989). The remaining food records are made up of British data from three sources (Paul & Southgate 1978; Paul & others 1980; Wiles & others 1980). A copyright arrangement for the use of some of these data has been entered into with HMSO and royalty payments are made by DSIR based on numbers of computer and printed copies produced for sale.

The data are available for purchase in the form of the printed NZ food composition tables (Milligan & others 1989), and computer products called FOODfiles and FOODsearch. An example of a typical food record in the NZ food composition tables is given in Figures la and 1b. In this example, nutritional information for wholemeal flour, 100% extraction rate, is presented as amounts per 100 g edible portion. The first part of the record includes the proximates, elements, vitamins and cholesterol. The next two parts show amino acid and fatty acid data. The final part of a food record presents additional information and various record identifier codes. In the example in Figures 1a and 1b, additional information includes different measures of dietary fibre and its important constituents.

The first edition of the printed version is presently available as an unabridged reference book, complete with statistical variation, number of samples associated with the mean values and country source data. It has 1600 pages and is similar in format to the US Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 8 series (USDA 1976–89). An abridged version will be ready by mid-1990 which will contain nutrient mean values only and come in a form similar to the British tables (Paul & Southgate 1978).

FOODfiles is also presently available. This product consists of data files for inclusion in the users' applications software or data base management system and is supplied as a set of ASCII files on either standard half-inch magnetic tape or 5.25" floppy disks. FOODfiles requires computing expertise for installation.

FOODsearch, a ready-to-use software package, is presently being developed. This product contains all the data files plus application software with capabilities for selection, display and calculations using user-defined scaling factors. Average daily nutrient intakes of individuals and populations can be determined, and compared to RDIs of several different nations. Totals will be flagged to indicate where nutrient values are missing from one or more of the food records used in the calculation. (Information on FOODfiles and FOODsearch may be obtained from the author).

The NZ therapeutic database of brand-name foods

The NZ therapeutic database of brand-name foods is different from traditional food composition data bases and tables in that it provides information on brand-name foods only, and provides much more information than simply the nutrient composition of the foods.

FLOUR, WHEAT, 100% E. R., Wholemeal

Figure 1a. Sample record from the NZ food composition tables (Milligan & others 1989).

Dietitians recognised that they required additional information about food which would not be included in the NZ food composition database and tables. At a joint meeting of the New Zealand Dietetic Association and the Nutrition Society of New Zealand in 1984, a working group convened to discuss their needs and thus conceived the idea of the therapeutic database.

This brand-name foods database contains industry-supplied information on ingredients, nutrient composition, manufacturer and product details, and the presence and absence of clinically significant food constituents (Figure 2). Nutrient composition data are subject to quality assurance checks. Each individual entry requires disclosure of whether the data were obtained from direct analyses, calculated from food composition tables, or from unknown means, by ticking the boxes on the form labelled A, C, and U, respectively.

Figure 1b. Sample record from the NZ food composition tables (continued).

Groups involved

Three main groups have been involved in important aspects of this work: the DSIR (Biotechnology Division and Chemistry Division), the NZ Health Department, and the Food Composition Steering Committee. Other organisations have contributed to the development of these databases by making grant money available, including the NZ Heart Foundation, Cancer Society of NZ, Lottery Board, Palmerston North Medical Research Foundation and the NZ Dietitians' Association.

Figure 2. The therapeutic database of brand-name foods data entry form. Two sections of the data entry form are shown: presence/absence of clinically significant food constituents and food additives, P = present, A = absent, U = unknown; and nutritional information, A = analysed, C = from food composition tables, U = unknown.

DSIR Biotechnology has been the primary site for organisation, and has played an important role in funding, sampling, analyses, and presentation of the data. Chemistry Division has also been involved in sampling and analyses, particularly vitamin analyses. The Health Department historically has funded much of the work and health inspectors have assisted with the sampling of foods from different regions of the country. Finally, the Food Composition Steering Committee has had the role of advising on various aspects of the work including the setting of food category priorities, selection of food constituents to measure, and procedures for sampling. The Committee, which over the years has included nutritionists, dietitians, health department officers, food technologists, and academics in food technology and human nutrition, has the obligation to review the information needs of nutrition professionals and consumers, and consider these in relation to the food composition work.

The composition of New Zealand foods

Most of the New Zealand source data come from the systematic nutrient analyses of foods, begun at Biotechnology Division in 1980, and conducted in collaboration with Chemistry Division. To date, comprehensive nutrient data have been obtained for New Zealand produced fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish and cereal grains. In addition to the systematic nutrient determinations, other data were collected from research laboratories around the country and incorporated into the data base after meeting all the established criteria for high quality data.

Problems

The challenge of these projects are many and include managing the limited resources such that the nutrient analyses conducted according to the guidance of the Steering Committee will ultimately replace all British data with New Zealand source data; maintaining the validity and integrity of the data selected for inclusion into the data bases; satisfying the wide mix of data base users with the end products; and sustaining funding from both the DSIR and the Health Department as the usefulness of all the data bases depends entirely on continual revision and updating.

Future

The maintenance and upgrading of nutrient composition data bases and tables will carry on with continued support from the NZ Health Department and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Analytical work will continue to focus on major categories of foods. Currently, bread and flour analyses are being conducted and future categories will include beef, lamb and meat products, traditional Maori and Pacific Island foods, and fast foods. Supplements and addenda to the printed and electronic data bases will be issued periodically, the first of which will be on breads and flour.

Specialised data bases and printed products will also be developed. Educational materials for secondary school students are being prepared jointly by staff of DSIR and a team of home economics teachers convened by the Education Department (now the Ministry of Education). Specialised printed products include the continuation of the soft-cover book series called the Composition of New Zealand foods (Visser & Burrows 1983). Books two (export fruits and vegetables) and three (milk and milk products) will be published in early 1990 and the first draft of book four (bread and flour) is in preparation, to be published in late 1990.

In New Zealand, as in many other countries, nutritional information is important for many sectors of the population. The future will see this information required and put to use by agriculturalists and geneticists in the development of new breeds and strains; business personnel involved in the marketing of food products; food technologists in the development of new, healthier manufactured foods; dietitians, epidemiologists and other health practitioners in advising on and evaluating food intakes of individuals and populations; policy makers in advising national bodies on nutritional goals and guidelines and on product labelling; and most importantly by consumers making wise purchasing decisions.

References

Burlingame, BA & Milligan, GC. 1989. The New Zealand food composition tables user's guide. Palmerston North, NZ: DSIR Biotechnology.

Greenfield, H, Chuah, LK & Wills, RBH. 1981. Composition of Australian foods. 12. Hamburgers. Food Technol. Aust. 33: 619–20.

Greenfield, H, Wimalasiri, P, Ma, SNN & Wills, RBH. 1982. Composition of Australian foods. 16. Foods from Pizza Hut restaurants. Food Technol. Aust. 34: 364–7.

Milligan, GC, Webster, DW & Burlingame, BA. 1989. The New Zealand food composition tables. Palmerston North, NZ: FOODDATA Biotechnology Division, DSIR.

Paul, AA & Southgate, DAT. 1978. The composition of foods. London: HMSO.

Paul, AA, Southgate, DAT & Russell, J. 1980. First supplement to McCance and Widdowson's The composition of foods. London: HMSO.

US Department of Agriculture. 1976–89. Composition of foods. Raw, processed, prepared. Handbook 8 series. Washington, DC: USDA.

Visser, FR & Burrows, JK. 1983. Composition of New Zealand foods 1. Characteristic fruit and vegetables. DSIR Bulletin 235. Wellington, NZ: DSIR.

Wiles, SJ., Nettleton, PA, Black, AE & Paul, AA. 1980. The nutrient composition of some cooked dishes eaten in Britain: a supplementary food composition table. J. Hum. Nutr. 34: 189–223.

Wills, RBH & Greenfield, H. 1982. Composition of Australian foods. 18. Foods from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Food Technol. Aust. 34: 566–9.

Wills, RBH, Makinson, H. & Greenfield, H. 1981a. Composition of Australian foods. 9. Meat pies, sausage rolls and pasties. Food Technol. Aust. 33: 450–4.

Wills, RBH, Wimalasiri, P & Greenfield, H. 1981b. Composition of Australian foods. 5. Fried take-away foods. Food Technol. Aust. 33: 26–7.