Food composition explained

Information on the concentrations of nutrients and nutritionally important components in foods is used in many different fields of work, especially in public health and nutriton. This information is usually presented in the form of food composition tables or databases. 

To ensure that food composition data are used appropriately and effectively, it is necessary for users to have some background knowledge on how food composition databases are produced and issues that should be considered in their application. This guide seeks to provide such background knowledge for users of food composition data and also to suggest where more detailed information can be found. It is specifically targeted at new entrants to the field, particularly nutrition/food science graduates, who need to have an understanding of food composition data and its limitations beyond the level that might have been covered during their undergraduate studies. However, it is hoped that it will be of interest to a wide range of food composition data users, including students. 

The guide draws on work undertaken by, and resources produced by, the EuroFIR (European Food Information Resource) Network of Excellence (http:// www.eurofir.net and http://www.eurofir.org/eurofir)1 . EuroFIR, which is funded under the European Union (EU) 6th Framework Food Quality and Safety Programme, aims to develop and integrate a comprehensive, coherent and validated databank providing a single, authoritative source of food composition data. 

Detailed guidance for the database compilers who construct food composition databases is available elsewhere, both in the form of publications (e.g. Rand et al. 1991; Greenfield & Southgate 2003) and via training courses. The latter includes a graduate short course on the production and use of food composition data in nutrition (http://www.vlaggraduateschool.nl/courses/ food-comp.pdf), organised by Wageningen University (http://www.wageningenuniversiteit.nl/UK/) and advertised on the EuroFIR website.