A REVISED NATIONAL SAMPLING PLAN FOR OBTAINING FOOD PRODUCTS FOR NUTRIENT ANALYSIS

Authors: PERRY, CHARLES - NASS; Pehrsson, Pamela; Holden, Joanne

Submitted to: Joint Statistical Meetings Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/16/2003
Publication Date: 12/16/2003
Citation: Perry, C., Pehrsson, P.R., Holden, J.M. 2003. A revised national sampling plan for obtaining food products for nutrient analysis. In: Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Section on Survey Research Methods [CD-ROM], San Francisco, California. 2003 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: The Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) in 1998. The goal of this program is to obtain nationally representative estimates of the nutritional components of common foods consumed in the United States. These data are included in the USDA National Nutrient Databank System and are disseminated in USDA's Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and other data sets produced by the NDL. This paper describes the revised statistically-based sample design used to obtain the outlets for collection of the products to be analyzed. The revised design is a three-stage sample selection process; counties were selected at the first stage, grocery store outlets within the selected counties were selected at the second stage, and at the third stage, a specific food product was purchased for nutrient analyses. By incorporating the 2000 census regions, divisions and states into the second stage selection process of the revised design, we obtain approximately a self-weighting sample of food products from each region that is also geographically dispersed across United States. The new design ensures the resulting for foods are representative of the average nutrient content of foods consumed by the United States population. These data provide the basis for nutrition research and food policy development.

Technical Abstract: The Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) in 1998. The goal of this program is to obtain nationally representative estimates of the nutritional components of common foods consumed in the United States. These data are included in the USDA National Nutrient Databank System and are disseminated in the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and other data sets produced by the NDL. This paper describes the revised statistically-based sample design used to obtain the outlets for collection of the products to be analyzed. The revised design, like the initial design, employs a three-stage sample selection process; counties were selected at the first stage, grocery store outlets within the selected counties were selected at the second stage, and at the third stage, a specific food product was purchased for nutrient analyses. By incorporating the 2000 census regions, divisions and states into the second stage selection process of the revised design, we obtain approximately a self-weighting sample of food products from each region that is also geographically dispersed across United States. The new design ensures the resulting for foods are representative of the average nutrient content of foods consumed by the United States population. These data provide the basis for nutrition research and food policy development.