Missing nutrient values for foods are kept to a minimum by gathering food composition data from a variety of sources and imputing values following standardized procedures.
A missing nutrient value is allowed only if:
- the amount of that nutrient in the food is believed to be negligible
- the food is usually eaten in small amounts
- it is unknown whether the nutrient exists in the food
- it is not possible to estimate the value because the food is unlike any other.
The following table shows the percent of Core Foods in the 2017 version of the NCC Food and Nutrient Database with values provided for various nutrients and food components (‘Complete’ column). For example, the table shows that energy values are provided for all (100%) of the Core Foods in the database.
The table also indicates the percentage of foods with values that were imputed (‘Estimated’ column). For example, the table shows that energy values were estimated for 6% of the Core Foods in the database.
In future database versions, estimated values will be replaced by analytic values as they become available.
| Nutrient | Complete (%) | Estimated (%) |
| Energy (kilocalories) | 100 | 12 |
| Total Fat | 100 | 10 |
| Total Carbohydrate | 100 | 8 |
| Available Carbohydrate | 100 | 97 |
| Total Protein | 100 | 7 |
| Animal Protein | 100 | 51 |
| Vegetable Protein | 100 | 65 |
| Gluten | 100 | 3 |
| Alcohol | 100 | 8 |
| Cholesterol | 100 | 13 |
| Solid Fats | 100 | 49 |
| Total Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA) | 100 | 24 |
| Total Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) | 100 | 25 |
| Total Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) | 100 | 24 |
| Total Trans-Fatty Acids (TRANS) | 100 | 34 |
| Total Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA 18:2) | 100 | 25 |
| Total Sugars | 100 | 30 |
| Fructose | 99 | 38 |
| Galactose | 99 | 41 |
| Glucose | 99 | 37 |
| Lactose | 100 | 46 |
| Maltose | 100 | 38 |
| Sucrose | 99 | 37 |
| Starch | 100 | 50 |
| Added Sugars (by Total Sugars) | 100 | 24 |
| Added Sugars (by Available Carbohydrate) | 100 | 26 |
| Total Dietary Fiber | 100 | 13 |
| Soluble Dietary Fiber | 99 | 49 |
| Insoluble Dietary Fiber | 99 | 52 |
| Pectins | 91 | 49 |
| Total Vitamin A Activity (International Units) | 100 | 16 |
| Beta-Carotene Equivalents (derived from provitamin A carotenoids) |
100 | 90 |
| Retinol | 100 | 26 |
| Beta-Carotene (provitamin A carotenoid) | 100 | 22 |
| Alpha-Carotene (provitamin A carotenoid) | 100 | 21 |
| Beta-Cryptoxanthin (provitamin A carotenoid) | 100 | 21 |
| Lutein + Zeaxanthin | 100 | 21 |
| Lycopene | 100 | 21 |
| Vitamin D (calciferol) | 100 | 16 |
| Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) | 100 | 76 |
| Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) | 100 | 70 |
| Vitamin E (International Units) | 100 | 91 |
| Vitamin E (Total Alpha-Tocopherol) | 100 | 35 |
| Natural Alpha-Tocopherol (RRR-alpha-tocopherol or d-alpha-tocopherol) |
100 | 92 |
| Synthetic Alpha-Tocopherol (all rac-alpha-tocopherol or dl-alpha-tocopherol) |
100 | 9 |
| Total Alpha-Tocopherol Equivalents | 100 | 89 |
| Beta-Tocopherol | 100 | 48 |
| Gamma-Tocopherol | 100 | 48 |
| Delta-Tocopherol | 100 | 48 |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) | 100 | 27 |
| Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 100 | 12 |
| Thiamin (vitamin B1) | 100 | 10 |
| Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 100 | 10 |
| Niacin (vitamin B3) | 100 | 11 |
| Pantothenic Acid | 99 | 21 |
| Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxyl, and pyridoxamine) | 100 | 14 |
| Total Folate | 100 | 15 |
| Dietary Folate Equivalents | 100 | 25 |
| Natural Folate (food folate) | 100 | 23 |
| Synthetic Folate (folic acid) | 100 | 13 |
| Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) | 100 | 15 |
| Calcium | 100 | 8 |
| Phosphorous | 100 | 10 |
| Magnesium | 100 | 11 |
| Iron | 100 | 8 |
| Zinc | 100 | 12 |
| Copper | 100 | 13 |
| Manganese | 100 | 20 |
| Selenium | 100 | 16 |
| Sodium | 100 | 12 |
| Potassium | 100 | 10 |
| SFA 4:0 (butyric acid) | 100 | 23 |
| SFA 6:0 (caproic acid) | 100 | 23 |
| SFA 8:0 (caprylic acid) | 100 | 23 |
| SFA 10:0 (capric acid) | 100 | 23 |
| SFA 12:0 (lauric acid) | 100 | 23 |
| SFA 14:0 (myristic acid) | 100 | 22 |
| SFA 16:0 (palmitic acid) | 100 | 22 |
| SFA 17:0 (margaric acid) | 100 | 30 |
| SFA 18:0 (stearic acid) | 100 | 22 |
| SFA 20:0 (arachidic acid) | 100 | 30 |
| SFA 22:0 (behenic acid) | 100 | 30 |
| MUFA 14:1 (myristoleic acid) | 100 | 31 |
| MUFA 16:1 (palmitoleic acid) | 100 | 22 |
| MUFA 18:1 (oleic acid) | 100 | 22 |
| MUFA 20:1 (gadoleic acid) | 100 | 23 |
| MUFA 22:1 (erucic acid) | 100 | 23 |
| PUFA 18:2 (linoleic acid) | 100 | 20 |
| PUFA 18:3 (linolenic acid) | 100 | 23 |
| PUFA 18:3 n-3 (linolenic acid [ALA]) | 100 | 35 |
| PUFA 18:4 (parinaric acid) | 100 | 23 |
| PUFA 20:4 (arachidonic acid) | 100 | 21 |
| PUFA 20:5 (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA]) | 100 | 22 |
| PUFA 22:5 (docosapentaenoic acid [DPA]) | 100 | 23 |
| PUFA 22:6 (docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) | 100 | 21 |
| TRANS 16:1 (trans-hexadecenoic acid) | 100 | 49 |
| TRANS 18:1 (trans-octadecenoic acid) | 100 | 46 |
| TRANS 18:2 (trans-octadecadienoic acid) | 100 | 47 |
| CLA cis-9, trans-11 | 100 | 32 |
| CLA trans-10, cis-12 | 100 | 46 |
| Tryptophan | 99 | 32 |
| Threonine | 99 | 32 |
| Isoleucine | 99 | 32 |
| Leucine | 99 | 32 |
| Lysine | 99 | 32 |
| Methionine | 99 | 32 |
| Cystine | 99 | 33 |
| Phenylalanine | 99 | 32 |
| Tyrosine | 99 | 33 |
| Valine | 99 | 32 |
| Arginine | 99 | 32 |
| Histidine | 99 | 32 |
| Alanine | 99 | 33 |
| Aspartic Acid | 99 | 33 |
| Glutamic Acid | 99 | 33 |
| Glycine | 99 | 33 |
| Proline | 99 | 33 |
| Serine | 99 | 33 |
| Daidzein | 100 | 16 |
| Genistein | 100 | 17 |
| Glycitein | 100 | 13 |
| Coumestrol | 100 | 13 |
| Biochanin A | 100 | 12 |
| Formononetin | 100 | 12 |
| Erythritol | 100 | 3 |
| Inositol | 100 | 22 |
| Isomalt | 100 | 2 |
| Lactitol | 100 | 2 |
| Maltitol | 100 | 2 |
| Mannitol | 100 | 16 |
| Pinitol | 100 | 5 |
| Sorbitol | 100 | 17 |
| Xylitol | 100 | 15 |
| Acesulfame Potassium | 100 | 0 |
| Aspartame | 100 | 1 |
| Saccharin | 100 | 1 |
| Sucralose | 100 | 0 |
| Tagatose | 100 | 4 |
| Caffeine | 100 | 8 |
| Phytic Acid | 100 | 36 |
| Oxalic Acid | 100 | 30 |
| 3-Methylhistidine | 100 | 9 |
| Sucrose Polyester | 100 | 0 |
| Choline | 100 | 32 |
| Betaine | 100 | 65 |
| Glycemic Index (glucose reference) | 100 | 24 |
| Glycemic Index (bread reference) | 100 | 24 |
| Nitrogen | 100 | 20 |
| Ash | 100 | 13 |
| Water | 100 | 17 |