NCC News Bite | March 2023

Newsletter

This edition contains the following articles:

 

Available for Licensing: Nutrients Per Common Portion Size File

 

If you are looking for an easy way to identify foods that are high or low in a nutrient or meet specific nutrition criteria, you may be interested in licensing the Nutrients Per Common Portion Size File available from NCC.  This Excel file provides the nutrient content per common portion for foods in the NCC Food and Nutrient Database. Using the file, foods may be rapidly sorted by nutrient content per common portion (e.g. sort foods from high to low for vitamin K content). The file includes food category information so that sorting may be carried out within a food category (e.g. sort ready-to-eat cereals by added sugars content).

 

Examples of ways this file might be useful include:

  • Identifying foods suitable for recommending to patients being counseled on a specific type of diet
  • Developing food recommendation lists for patient education materials
  • Identifying foods to include in feeding study menus to meet nutrient targets
  • Identifying foods that meet nutrient criteria established for public health interventions (e.g. foods that meet stocking criteria for food shelves or mobile markets).

To learn more or initiate the licensing process, email NDSRhelp@umn.edu.

 

Announcing: NCC Agreement with Viocare for ProNutra Users

 

NCC now has an agreement with Viocare so that ProNutra users can license the NCC Food and Nutrient Database as an add-on to the feeding study software.  This add-on requires a license agreement with, and subscription fee paid to, Viocare.  A portion of the annual subscription fee covers the fee Viocare pays to NCC for use of the NCC Database as a ProNutra add-on.  Funds NCC receives from Viocare support our ongoing work maintaining and expanding the NCC Food and Nutrient Database.  If you are a supported NDSR client (annual support payments are up to date) who is licensing ProNutra, you will be offered a reduced price for the subscription to the NCC Database.  Licensing this subscription is through Viocare, so please contact them with your questions.  Note that ProNutra with the subscription to the NCC Food and Nutrient Database does not include NDSR software. 

 

 

 

Food and Nutrient Database Updates Coming in NDSR 2023

 

We are excited to share that NDSR 2023 will include a plethora of food and nutrient database updates. Here we highlight some of the updates.

 

Plant-based milk alternatives updated and expanded

As you have likely noticed, the number and variety of plant-based milk alternatives in the marketplace have exploded in recent years. Consequently, we prioritized updating this food category. As part of the update, we are expanding the types of plant-based milk alternatives included in the database to include products that contain soy, oat, almond, cashew, coconut, flax, hazelnut, hemp, pistachio, rice, walnut, and plant blends. We are also adding brands because we found that the nutrient content varies greatly across brands. Most notably, there are differences in fortification practices with regard to calcium and vitamin D (some products are fortified with both, some with just one, and some with neither).  

 

When our work updating plant-based milk alternatives is complete, we anticipate having more than 200 products produced by 23 manufacturers included in NDSR 2023.

 

More Korean foods added

As part of our ongoing initiative to include foods unique to an array of eating traditions, we are expanding Korean foods in the database. Foods being added include the following:

  • Kimchi pancakes
  • Tteok or mochi (Korean or Japanese rice cake)
  • Korean gochujang vinaigrette
  • Korean style dressing
  • Bibimbap (Korean rice with meat and vegetables)
  • Bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef)
  • Dukboki or Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake with meat and vegetables)
  • Samgyeopsal (Korean grilled pork belly)
  • Gochujang sauce (Korean chili paste)
  • Injeolmi (Korean sweet rice cake)
  • Kimchi soup

As a reminder–keep your NDSR support current so that you are eligible to receive the NDSR 2023 version when it is released! Even if you are mid-study, we generally recommend upgrading to the latest version of NDSR because new versions have database improvements such as those described in this article. 

 

If you licensed the NCC Food and Nutrient Database files and pay to receive updated data files annually, you will receive the updates described above in the 2023 data files. If you do not pay to receive updated data files but would like to, contact NDSRhelp@umn.edu.  

 

Stay tuned for more information on NDSR 2023 in coming months. 

 

 

 

Upcoming NDSR Training Dates

 

NCC offers two-day NDSR training workshops via zoom several times throughout the year.  Attendees learn how to navigate the software, search the database, and conduct a 24-hour dietary recall.   The next two workshops will be held April 24-25 and June 12-13.  Register online at least two weeks prior to the workshop to reserve a space.  Registration may close early if spaces are filled.