This edition contains the following articles:

Food and Nutrient Database Updates Coming in NDSR 2019
Updated Daily Values (DV) Report Coming in NDSR 2019
Can NDSR be used to assess food and nutrient intake in countries other than the U.S.?

Food and Nutrient Database Updates Coming in NDSR 2019

Given today’s ever-changing marketplace and evolving food industry, the NCC database team is working hard every day to update the food and nutrient database that supports NDSR. Here are some of the updates you can look forward to in NDSR 2019:

• The yogurt category has been updated. This process included updating existing brands and adding several new brands that have emerged in the marketplace. Over 250 brand name yogurts are in NDSR 2019. While updating we noticed a number of marketplace trends that make yogurts today different than those available the last time we updated this category. Most notably, the types of sweeteners used in yogurt have shifted. To summarize, acesulfame-potassium/sucralose and Stevia/sugar blends appear to be more common, while aspartame is no longer used.
• The following brands of commercial entrees have been updated: Chef Boyardee, Jenny Craig, Kashi, Michelina’s, and Smucker’s Uncrustables.
• The following fast food restaurants have been updated: Arby’s, Burger King, Chipotle, Church’s Chicken, McDonald’s and Subway.
• The following brands of ready-to-eat cereals have been updated: Attune Foods, Barbara’s, Familia Swiss Muesli, Kashi, and Kretschmer.
• Pancake and waffle mixes were updated and options with chocolate chips and with fruit were added.
• In addition to updating food categories, we are continually adding foods to the database in response to requests from you. New foods in NDSR 2019 include bone broth, chili con queso with meat, and gluten free Bisquick.
• The FNDDS 2015-2016 Database was used to update foods with nutrient and non-nutrient data.
• The Legacy Release of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference was used to update foods with nutrient and non-nutrient (e.g. density, food specific units, etc.) data.
• Finally, as mentioned in the November 2018 News Bite, we are adding lignans (total and four sub types) to NDSR 2019.

Updated Daily Values (DV) Report Coming in NDSR 2019

A new Nutrition Fact label is coming to the marketplace, with the new label now appearing on some food products in anticipation of the mandatory implementation date of January 1, 2020 (smaller manufacturers have until January 1, 2021 to comply). To keep pace with this change, the Daily Values (DV) Report in NDSR 2019 will align with the new label.

The new label has a myriad of changes. To summarize, added sugars and vitamin D are required on the new label, and the Daily Value (DV) levels for many of the label nutrients have changed to reflect current recommended intake levels. For some nutrients the unit has changed. Most notably, vitamin D is in mcg on the new label instead of IU. Also, folic acid is in the unit of mcg Dietary Folate Equivalents (DFE) instead of mcg.

Let us know if you have any questions about the new DV report.

Can NDSR be used to assess food and nutrient intake in countries other than the U.S.?

It is challenging to assess food and nutrient intake in many countries due to the lack of country specific food and nutrient databases that are comprehensive and complete. In addition, dietary analysis software applications for calculating nutrient intake are often not available. To address these challenges, some researchers have begun using NDSR to assess food and nutrient intake in countries outside the U.S.

Using NDSR to assess food and nutrient intake in countries other than the U.S. requires special procedures because the nutrient composition values for foods in NDSR are based on U.S. foods. Nutrient values for some foods in NDSR may be representative of those available in other countries (e.g., nutrient content of a guava in the U.S. and a guava in Peru may be comparable). However, values may not be comparable for some foods due to different food fortification practices across countries, use of different cultivars of plants, and differences in food ingredient and preparation practices. An additional issue is that some food descriptors vary across countries. For example, in the U.S. ‘biscuit’ refers to a fat-rich leavened baked good generally served with a meal. In contrast, in many other countries ‘biscuit’ refers to a sugar-sweetened baked good served as a snack or dessert.

NDSR includes several features that accommodate its use internationally. Most notably, foods/dishes can be added to the program using the program’s User Recipe feature. This feature allows the researcher to add foods/dishes that are not available in the NDSR database. Dietary recall interview prompts in the program may be displayed in Spanish, which facilitates its use in Spanish speaking countries. Finally, food amounts may be entered in metric (e.g. ml, cm, etc.), which is useful in countries that use the metric/international system of units (SI).

We’d be happy to talk with you to discuss your needs and answer questions you may have about using NDSR for assessing food and nutrient intake in countries other than the U.S.