Development of the FAO/INFOODS/IZINCG Global Food Composition Database for Phytate.

Phytate is widely distributed in the plant kingdom, and its significance for human nutrition has been often described. Data on phytate is available in very few composition tables, for a limited number of foods and mainly for raw products. With the aim of publishing the first global repository of analytical data on phytate, data on moisture, phytate, zinc, iron and calcium were compiled.

Report on the development of the FAO/INFOODS user database for fish and shellfish (uFiSh) - Challenges and possible solutions.

Reliable food composition data are required for virtually all nutrition-related programs and policies. In many food composition tables, fish are included to a limited extent. Therefore, FAO/INFOODS decided to compile and publish a user databases for fish and shellfish (uFiSh), considering the following main objectives: to develop a global database for fish, crustaceans and molluscs with raw, cooked and processed foods; to base the database preferable on analytical data; to include major as well as minor species consumed; and to capture intra-species variation due to habitat, edible part, season or region.

Improving food composition data quality: Three new FAO/INFOODS guidelines on conversions, data evaluation and food matching.

Food composition data play a key role in many sectors and the availability of quality data is critically important. Since 1984, the International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS) has been working towards improving food composition data quality and availability, including the development and updating of standards, guidelines and tools for food composition. FAO/INFOODS has recently published three comprehensive guidelines to improve and harmonise the compilation of data: (1) Guidelines for Food Matching, (2) Guidelines for Checking Food Composition Data prior to Publication of a User Table/Database, and (3) Guidelines for Converting Units, Denominators and Expressions.

Review of food composition data for edible insects.

Edible insects are considered rich in protein and a variety of micronutrients, and are therefore seen as potential contributors to food security. However, the estimation of the insects' contribution to the nutrient intake is limited since data are absent in food composition tables and databases. Therefore, FAO/INFOODS collected and published analytical data from primary sources with sufficient quality in the Food Composition Database for Biodiversity (BioFoodComp).

FAO/INFOODS e-Learning Course on Food Composition Data.

The FAO/INFOODS e-Learning Course on Food Composition Data was developed to close existing knowledge gaps on food composition of professionals working with those data. It covers the important aspects of food composition, is based on instructional design, is highly interactive and comprises 14 lessons of approximate 10h duration. It was developed primarily for usage in universities, but also suits self-paced learning and blended learning programmes.

Proposal on the usage of conversion factors for fatty acids in fish and shellfish.

Different approaches for converting fatty acid (FA) data in fish and shellfish expressed as weight percent of total FA or of total lipid content (TL) to per 100g edible portion fresh weight (EP) are used. FAO/INFOODS studied on a dataset of 668 fish and shellfish firstly the impact on their FA and TL content per 100g EP using two fatty acid conversion factors, namely the factors published by Weihrauch et al. (XFAW) and Greenfield and Southgate (XFAGS), and secondly the usefulness of Sheppard factors (ShF), which convert fatty acid methyl esters to fatty acids.

Review of availability of food composition data for fish and shellfish.

The FAO/INFOODS database on fish and shellfish (aFiSh) is a collection of analytical data from primary sources and holds values for 2,277 entries on raw and processed food with sufficient quality. Most data were entered on fatty acids (60%), followed by macronutrients and their fractions (16%), minerals (10%), amino acids (7%), (pro)vitamins (2%), heavy metals (2%) and other components (3%). Information on several factors that contribute to the variation of compositional data (e.

FAO/INFOODS food composition database for biodiversity.

Nutrient content can vary as much between different varieties of the same foods, as they do among different foods. Knowledge of varietal differences can therefore mean the difference between nutrient adequacy and inadequacy. The FAO/INFOODS food composition database for biodiversity has been developed with analytical data for foods described at the level of variety, cultivar and breed, and for underutilized and wild foods.