Location: Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory
Project Number: 8040-10700-004-032-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2024
End Date: Jun 29, 2027
Objective:
The NIH ODS-USDA Special Interest Databases are authoritative, nationally recognized high-quality data that focus on compounds of public health importance and for which there are data gaps and omissions in large scale food composition databases. These data are important for development of food policy, research, dietary practice/guidance, and nutrition monitoring. This analytical work will address the growing importance for more accurate and current estimates of variability for commodity and commodity-derived foods, and current information about the composition of foods that mirrors the diversity and fast-paced changes in the food environment which contribute to health and prevention of chronic diseases related to diet. Many of these data will be linked to the Foundation Foods, FDC, USDA and the USDA-NIH Dietary Supplements Ingredient Database.
Approach:
The composition data for foods and dietary supplements are derived from USDA contracted analyses with academic institutions specializing in selected compounds (iodine, Nitrates/nitrites, purines, etc.) and USDA and NIH scientists. USDA analytical oversight and a comprehensive, multi-step quality control program are important features of this analytical program; specific aims are: a) Identify and prioritize foods and dietary supplements for analysis; b) Devise and implement specific sampling plans; c) Acquire and analyze food samples; d) Review, compile, and disseminate values for mean nutrient, estimates of variability and associated metadata. Development of compound specific database, presentations at professional meetings and manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals conclude these initiatives.
