Location: Food for Health of People and the Environment Lab
Project Number: 8040-52530-001-017-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 15, 2024
End Date: Sep 14, 2027
Objective:
The USDA FoodData Central integrates distinct datatypes related to the composition of foods in the U.S. marketplace and produced with a variety of agricultural practices. The objective of this agreement is to collaborate on the acquisition and analyses of foods used as ingredients and to determine the impact of conditions related to genetics, environment, management and processing on food composition.
Approach:
The USDA FoodData Central (FDC) database provides the U.S. public and researchers with information on the composition of foods found in the market place. USDA and VPI have entered into cooperative agreement(s) to conduct sample procurement, preparation, and analysis of food samples and related research on Foundation Foods (FF). FF include single ingredient commodities and commodity-derived foods deemed important in the U.S. food supply, as identified by the Food for Health of People and the Environment Laboratory (FHPEL), other BHNRC scientists, and scientists at the Food Analysis Laboratory Control Center in the VPI Biochemistry Department. FFsampling plans reflect the variability of nutrients/bioactive compounds, and prioritizing foods and compounds of public health importance and for which wide variability is expected and/or variability is unknown. Foods may include specific crops, animals/cuts of meat, and ingredients. Analytes may also include important non-nutrient bioactive compounds and newly emerging compounds of health interest. Food samples are procured through farmers, vendors, retail, or local samplings and are prepared at the Food Analysis Control Center (FALCC-VPI) for analysis, batched with appropriate control materials, and shipped to qualified laboratories for analysis. In some cases, FALCC-VT conducts analyses of specific components. In addition to preparation of samples, critical metadata with respect to variety, purchase sites, and dates are be tracked. Archived/backup samples will be prepared for repeat analyses and stored at FALCC-VT. Cooking protocols and protocols for preparation (e.g., under Nitrogen) are determined and recorded. FALCC-VT performs initial Quality Control review of data and makes recommendations to FHPEL leadership for their continued review, before data are published in FDC. In the context of this work, FALCC-VT will coordinate the purchasing of nutrient analyses at commercial labs, and this agreement specifically covers the cost of those analyses as well as the procedures to acquire and process selected foods.
