At A Glance

Noteworthy Characteristics

  • Provides comprehensive database of foods, their nutrient composition, and associated food groups.
  • Provides high degree of specificity in describing foods, including methods of preparation and brand identification.
  • Contains high level of nutrient data completeness (uses information from a variety of sources and applies imputation procedures).
  • Includes a wide variety of specialized foods consumed common to specific racial/ethnic groups and subgroups.

Website

http://www.ncc.umn.edu/products/database.html

Purpose

To provide nutrient composition and food group data for foods consumed in United States (US).

Target Population

Foods and food variations, including brand products, consumed in the US.

Conducted

Began in 1974. Updated annually. Most recent year updated was 2012.

Sponsor

The University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center.

Special Note(s)

The Food and Nutrient Database may be licensed for a range of applications, such as providing nutrient and food group values for food frequency questionnaires, summarizing items on food outlet menus, or examining market trends in various food product categories.

Within the Food and Nutrient Database, the NCC Food Group Serving Count System facilitates estimating intake of food groups, (e.g., daily servings of fruit). With this system, foods in the database are assigned to 168 subgroups that fit within 9 major food categories. Two additional food grouping schemes are available in the database. Learn more about food groupings.

Contact:
University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center
NDSRhelp@umn.edu
+1-612.626.9450 (Tel)
+1-612.626.9444 (Fax)

Sampling

Sample Design

Database, not a survey. USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory is the primary source of information for the nutrient values assigned to foods in the Food and Nutrient Database. Foods may be added to the database at the request or recommendation of researchers if quality analytic composition information is available for those foods. Learn more about methodology.

Sample Size

Does not involve sampling. Database includes approximately 18,000 foods, of which about 7,000 are brand-name products. Numerous ingredient and preparation method choices result in about 160,000 possible food variations.

Special Note(s)

Because values for some nutrients and food components are not available from USDA and information is lacking for many brand name food products, additional resources are used. These resources include values from other food and nutrient databases and articles in scientific journals containing values for food products obtained using appropriate analytic methodologies.

Key Variables

Diet-Related

NameMethods of Assessment
Nutrients (163 nutrients, nutrient ratios, and other food components, such as , kilocalories, calcium, percent calories from fat, and cholesterol)N/A
Food groups (168 subgroups, such as citrus fruit, that fit within 9 major food categories, such as fruit)N/A

Special Note(s)

Learn more about the Food and Nutrient Database list of nutrients.

Learn more about the Food and Nutrient Database food groups.

Data Access and Cost

Data Availability

A license must be obtained to use the NCC Food and Nutrient database. Learn more about obtaining this license. The license agreement is based on scope of use.

Cost

Price is based on scope of use.

Geocode/Linkage

Geocode Variable(s)

Not applicable.

Existing Linkages

Used in a number of major nutrition surveillance studies, such as the Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), Feeding Infant and Toddlers (FITS), and the Minnesota Heart Survey MHS)

Selected Publications

Methods

Harnack L, Stevens M, Van Heel N, Schakel S, Dwyer J, Himes J. A computer-based approach for assessing dietary supplement use in conjunction with dietary recalls. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2008;21(Suppl 1):S78-S82.

Holden JM, Eldridge A, Beecher GR, Buzzard IM, Bhagwat S, Davis CS, Douglass LW, Gebhardt S, Haytowitz D, Schakel S. Carotenoid content of US foods: An update of the database. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 1999;12(3):169-196.

Miller PE, Mitchell DC, Harala PL, Petit JM, Smiciklas-Wright, Hartman TJ. Development and evaluation of a method for calculating the Healthy Eating Index-2005 using the Nutrition Data System for Research. Public Health Nutrition 2011; 14(2): 306-313.

Schakel S, Buzzard IM, Gebhardt S. Procedures for estimating nutrient values for food composition databases. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 1997;10(2):102-114.

Schakel S, Harnack L, Wold C, Van Heel N, Himes J. Incorporation of trans-fatty acids into a comprehensive nutrient database. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 1999;12(4):323-331.

Schakel S, Pettit J. Expansion of a nutrient database with the "new" vitamin E. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2004;17(3-4):371-378.

Schakel S, Schauer R, Himes J. Development of a glycemic index database for dietary assessment. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2008;21(Suppl):S50-S55

Schakel SF, Jasthi B, Van Heel N, Harnack L. Adjusting a nutrient database to improve calculation of percent calories from macronutrients. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2009;22(Suppl 1):S32-S36.

Schakel SF. Maintaining a nutrient database in a changing marketplace: keeping pace with changing food products-a research perspective. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 14(3):315-322, 2001.

Van Heel N, Pettit J, Rice BL, Smith SM. Meeting expanding needs for nutrient specificity: the NASA case study. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2003:16(3):299-303