This edition contains the following articles:

• News from the 42nd National Nutrient Databank Conference
• New data file available – NCC Food Serving Counts for foods in the NCC database
• Kombucha added to NDSR 2022
• “Unknown” Options in NDSR
• August NDSR Training

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News from the 42nd National Nutrient Databank Conference (NNDC)

 

NCC was pleased to be a part of the 42nd NNDC held virtually on May 16-18.  We learned a lot about the food and nutrient database work being done nationally and internationally and the needs of the attendees. Our future database work will be strengthened by the insights we gained from this important conference.

 

We were pleased to share some of our work through oral and poster presentations. Click on the links below to view the abstracts for each of the topics NCC presented on.

 

• Adapting a US Dietary Analysis Software and Database for Use in Brazil
• Nutrient Composition Variability of Plant-Based Ground Beef Alternative Products Available in the US Marketplace in 2019
• An Approach to Enhancing a Food and Nutrient Database to Include Foods Unique to Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, and Somali Cooking Traditions in the US
• Feasibility of Using the USDA Global Branded Food Products Database to Update a Food and Nutrient Database

 

The 43rd National Nutrient Databank Conferencewill be held in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, in 2024 with dates still to be determined.

 

 

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New data files available for licensing – NCC Food Serving Counts and Grain Equivalents for foods in the NCC database

 

The Nutrition Coordinating Center works every day to maintain and update the comprehensive research-quality NCC Food and Nutrient Database. In addition to supporting NDSR, this database may be licensed by software developers and researcher for a variety of purposes. In addition to licensing data files that provide nutrient content values for foods in the NCC database, NCC now has available files that provide food serving counts for foods in the database. One of the files provides the NCC Food Serving Counts, which are food serving counts for 174 food groups that nest within 9 major food categories (e.g. fruits, vegetables, dairy, etc.). Another file is available that provides total grain, whole grain, and refined grain servings in ounce equivalents for all foods in the database. Licensing these files alone or in combination with the nutrient data creates the opportunity to develop nutrition support and dietary assessment apps oriented toward food-based dietary recommendations and indices such as the Healthy Eating Index or Mediterranean Diet Quality Index. If you are interested in learning more about this file or would like to license it, contact us here.

 

 

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Kombucha Added to NDSR 2022

 

Many of you will be glad to know that kombucha has been added to NDSR 2022! This has been an increasingly common new food request from our clients in recent years.  Kombucha is a fermented beverage typically made with black tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast.  It can be homemade or purchased at a store. There is some variation in the ingredients used in preparing kombucha. For example, black tea only or a combination of black and green tea may be used. The source of sugar used might be cane sugar, honey, or a fruit juice concentrate. Sometimes flavorings such as sage, mint, or ginger are added and some products are fortified with nutrients such as some B vitamins.  Since we could not add a full spectrum of kombucha products to the database at this time, our database scientists added one kombucha based on a product that is most commonly requested. The formulation includes tea (a blend of black and green), water, and sugar as ingredients and is not fortified.  

 

 

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“Unknown” Options in NDSR?

 

In the NCC Food and Nutrient Database there are foods defined as ‘unknown’ (e.g., ‘milk, unknown % fat’). These foods may be selected during a 24-hour dietary recall when a study participant does not know the level of detail required for a food he/she reports consuming. Also, ‘unknown’ options can be helpful when entering a food record into NDSR that is missing needed food detail (e.g. study participant did not specify the type of milk they drank in their food record).

 

You may wonder how NCC assigns nutrient values to these foods when unknowns are selected. NCC uses the nutrient values for the form of the food that is believed to be most commonly consumed in the U.S. For example, the nutrient values for 2% milk are utilized for ‘milk, unknown % fat’. To decide what is most common, NCC relies on scientific and food industry publications that report dietary intake patterns and product sales. Professional judgment is also used where published data is lacking.

 

If you need to know what food an unknown food defaults to you can look in the output files. The Food File (output file 02) lists the food as it was selected (e.g., milk, unknown % fat). The Component/Ingredient File (output file 01) lists the default food that is associated with the unknown food (e.g., milk, 2% fat). To quickly identify unknown foods in your dataset use the column in file 02 labeled ‘Unknown (default) Food’. If a food is an unknown there will be a ‘1’ in this column.

 

 

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August NDSR Training

 

The next available NDSR Training Workshop is scheduled for August 15-16, 2022. Register here by July 28 if you are interested in this Zoom training. If the limited seats in the training are filled, registration will close early. 

 

 

This edition contains the following articles:

• Sneak Peak at New HEI Output Files and Reports in NDSR 2022
• Special Thank you to NDSR Users for Help in Designing HEI Reports
• Reminder to Save Original Backup Files
• New Foods

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Sneak Peak at New HEI Output Files and Reports in NDSR 2022

 

You may have heard that one of the big enhancements we are working on for NDSR 2022 is adding Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2015 output files and reports! 

 

In NDSR 2022 new HEI output data files will be provided that include HEI total and component scores for dietary recall, food record, and menu record types. One of the files will provide the HEI scores for the intake record or menu, and the other will provide scores at the meal level. In addition to including index total and component scores, the files will include the variables on which scores are based (e.g. serving of vegetables in 1 cup equivalents).

 

The new HEI Reports to be included in NDSR 2022 are designed for use in providing study participants/patients with information on the nutritional quality of their diet. Menu planners may find the report useful as a quick way of evaluating the extent to which planned menus align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A sample report is available on our website. Along with listing total and component scores for both adequacy and moderation components (page 1 of report), the report explains how to maximize your score for each component (page 2 of report).  You will be able to generate a report that provides HEI total and component scores for one intake record or menu, and another report can be generated to provide HEI total and component scores across a set of intake records or menus (e.g. across multiple dietary recall records for a participant).

 

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Special Thank You to NDSR Users for Help in Designing HEI Reports

 

NCC would like to take this opportunity to thank the NDSR users that provided us with input on the design of the new HEI Reports that will be available in NDSR 2022. We would like to give a special thanks to Dustin Burnett and his work group at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California, Davis who went above and beyond by developing a mock-up that depicted their ideas for the report. These suggestions were invaluable in creating NDSR HEI reports to best meet the needs and expectations of our users. We sincerely value their contribution.

 

Making NDSR improvements that align with user needs would not be possible without ideas and feedback from those who use the program. We thank all of you for your ongoing support.

 

 

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Reminder to Save Original Backup Files

 

Anyone who has experienced a hard drive crash will likely have no difficulty in understanding the importance of creating backup files. The security of your data requires that you backup your projects on a regular and frequent basis. The NDSR program makes this an easy process by providing backup options.
 
NDSR backup files are different from NDSR output files. Output files are tab-delimited text files that provide all information captured in individual records and all nutrient calculations for collected data including ingredient, food, eating occasion, and daily totals along with extensive Food Group Serving Count information and all Dietary Supplement Assessment Module (DSAM) data collected. Output files are most commonly used for analysis and/or quality assurance protocols.
 
In contrast, NDSR backup files include all information captured within the individual record but do not include calculations. It is important to note that backup files may not be opened outside of the NDSR program. Backup files provide an archive of the project records, and may only be restored into the NDSR program. Backup files are required for existing data to be re-run through upcoming versions of NDSR to capture added nutrient fields and other features of the time-related database design.
 
When you backup data, we recommend that you backup your data to more than one location. You can backup to your hard drive, a network drive, a flash drive, and/or a CD. Of course, any of these options have the chance to fail. Hard drives and networks crash, flash drives get lost, and CDs fail. However, if you have backed up to more than one location, your chances of being affected by corrupted or lost data are much less likely. Also, make sure to keep a backup copy of the data from the original NDSR version the data were collected in, as intake records may only be edited in the version in which they were collected. 
For more information about creating NDSR backup files, see Chapter 9 of the NDSR User Manual.

 

 

New Foods

 

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The following foods are included in the NCC News Bite January 2022 New Foods Backup File, available for download on our website under New Food Backup Files, “January 2022”.

 

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk Creamer

 

Built Bar – Strawberry

 

Gatorade Prime Energy Chews

 

Hippeas Snack Chip – White Cheddar

 

Jimmy Dean Delights Turkey Sausage, Egg White & Cheese Croissant

 

Mission Carb Balance Soft Taco Flour Tortilla

 

Planters NUT-rition Brain Support Power Squares

 

Pure Protein Bar – Chocolate Deluxe

 

This edition contains the following articles:

• Save the Date: National Nutrient Databank Conference May 16-18, 2022




• Zoom NDSR training workshops are filling up quickly

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Save the Date:  National Nutrient Databank Conference May 16-18, 2022

 
Mark your calendars for the 42^nd National Nutrient Databank Conference to be held virtually on May 16-18, 2022.  The conference theme is 125 Years of Food Composition: Where We’ve Been And How We’re Evolving Globally​.

 

The conference will allow presenters to showcase their latest research and network with others in this unique field of food composition.  Since last year’s virtual conference was successful, next year’s conference will be held virtually again, due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19.

 

Submission of abstracts for poster or oral presentations related to food composition and dietary supplement data and databases is now open!

• Submission deadline for oral/poster presentation: December 1, 2021
• Notification of Abstract Acceptance:  January 15, 2022

Please visit the NNDC website for abstract content requirements and submission instructions.

 

 

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Zoom NDSR training workshops are filling up quickly

 

The new Zoom format for NDSR training workshops has been wildly popular with both new and existing clients. As a result, we have had to close registration early for several recent workshops.  If you are considering attending a future training, we encourage you to register early. The next NDSR Training is scheduled for January 10-11, 2022.  Registration on our website will close when the workshop fills, or on December 21, 2021, whichever comes first.

 

This edition contains the following articles:

 

• NDSR 2021 is available!
• Welcome NCC’s New Associate Director
• Plans for NDSR 2022 HEI 2015 reports
• Backup Files are Gold
• User Support Hours will be limited for 1 day  
• November NDSR Training
• Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

 

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NDSR 2021 is available!

We want to make sure that everyone knows that NDSR 2021 is now available! If your annual support is current as of August 1, the primary account holder at your institution should have received an email with a link to download the newest version of NDSR. If you haven’t already, we highly recommend upgrading to NDSR 2021, as we have updated a number of food product categories so that foods and nutrients in NDSR reflect today’s marketplace. We also added a number of foods to the database so that foods consumed by Americans are better represented. For tips on upgrading, see our FAQ page and click on ‘Upgrading’. If you did not receive an email with an upgrade link, contact NDSRHelp@umn.edu.

 

If you are not a currently supported client and want access to NDSR 2021, email NDSRHelp@umn.edu for pricing and other details on reinstating support.

 

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Welcome NCC’s New Associate Director

We would like to introduce Abigail Johnson, PhD RDN to you. Dr. Johnson joined the Nutrition Coordinating Center as Associate Director in 2020. She is a nutrition scientist and registered dietitian with specific expertise in dietary data analysis and microbiome studies. Dr. Johnson is broadly interested in dietary assessment and innovative dietary assessment technologies. She has led dietary intervention studies and has worked with nutritional and dietary data from cross-sectional studies and large citizen science projects.

 

Dr. Johnson recently presented her research to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Food Forum Workshop titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Precision and Personalized Nutrition”. A link to her presentation can be found here.

 

 

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Healthy Eating Index (HEI) Reports and Output files to be included in NDSR 2022

You’ve asked and we’ve responded- HEI reports and output files are being added to NDSR. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a tool developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the extent to which diets are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Possible index points range from 0-100, with a higher score indicating greater consistency of the diet with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Watch for more details in future NCC News Bites, and a big thank you to clients that have been providing valuable input as we work to develop the HEI reports and output files to be included in NDSR 2022.

 

 

 

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Backup Files are Gold

Anyone who has experienced a hard drive crash will likely have no difficulty in understanding the importance of creating backup files. Although NDSR protects data by saving record information to your hard drive or server as it is entered, it is also important to create a NDSR backup and data management plan. Frequent backup of projects to multiple locations (e.g., hard drive, network drive, flash drive, cloud storage, etc.) is recommended. Additionally, reports can be saved or printed immediately following data entry to protect against information loss. More information on backing up your data is available on the NCC website.

 

 

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User Support Hours will be limited for 1 day

NCC is moving it’s office space one floor up. During the day of the move, we anticipate limited User Support hours.  More detailed information on User Support hours during the move can be found on our website once posted.

 

 

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November NDSR Training

The next NDSR Training Workshop is scheduled for November 15-16, 2021. Register here by October 28if you are interested in this Zoom training. If the limited seats in the training are filled, registration will close early. 

 

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Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Are you on LinkedIn or Twitter? Follow the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center. We’re regularly posting information we think NDSR users will find helpful.

 

 

 

This edition contains the following articles:

 

• Nutrient content of plant-based ground beef alternative products reported using data in NCC Food and Nutrient Database
• Reminder: Certification Grace Period ends November 1^st, 2021
• Survey Results are In!
• How to export your NDSR data to Excel
• Saving a User Recipe or Other Record to Another Project in NDSR
• Going Forward NDSR Training will be via Zoom
• New Foods

 

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Nutrient content of plant-based ground beef alternative products reported using data in NCC Food and Nutrient Database

We conducted an analysis of the nutrient composition of plant-based ground beef alternative products in the NCC Food and Nutrient Database, which includes 37 plant-based ground beef alternative products produced by nine food companies. Nutritional strengths and shortcomings were found for these products. To summarize findings:

 

• Plant-based ground beef alternative products tended to be a good or excellent source of a number of nutrients such as fiber, folate and iron.
• Most of the plant-based ground beef alternative products contained substantially lower amounts of saturated fat than ground beef. 
• Among the plant-based ground beef alternative products examined, most contained substantially less protein, zinc and vitamin B12 than ground beef. 
• Many plant-based products contained moderate to high amounts of sodium.

 

To learn more, click here for access to the full article.

 

 

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Reminder:  Certification Grace Period ends November 1, 2021

Individuals who attend our two day NDSR Training are eligible to be NDSR Certified (additional fee applies).  The certification process consists of completing ten practice recalls and two certification recalls with NCC trainers.  We recommend that trainees start their certification process within three to four months of when they attend the training workshop, as those who wait longer have a harder time passing their certification.  Last year we let you know that we implemented a policy that individuals must complete their certification within two years of attending training.  After that, the certification fee will be charged again if you want to be certified. This additional charge is needed because we find it takes extra effort to carry out certification when there is a lengthy delay between training and certification. For those who have paid for certification and attended training more than two years ago, we are granting a grace period.  If you complete your certification by November 1, 2021, you will not be charged again. 

 

Email Julia Lorenzana Peasley at peas0027@umn.edu to initiate your certification process or ask questions.

 

 

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Survey Results are In!

Many thanks to those of you who completed our Client Survey!  We reviewed the results and your suggestions closely to help improve NDSR and our services.  Some questions and requests came in through the survey that we will answer in this and future issues of the NCC News Bite.  If you have any other questions about using NDSR, we invite you to email us at NDSRhelp@umn.edu anytime.  We like hearing from you, and you don’t have to wait for the next survey to submit other questions.  Our User Support team is available to help answer your questions.

 

 

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How to export your NDSR data to Excel

NDSR output files are generated in .txt format, which can be easily imported to many statistical analysis programs.  If you want to view your data in Excel, you may want to generate the output with the column headers by selecting the checkbox shown below in the User Preferences.  Then, you can extract the .txt files and open them with Excel.  You can find step by step instructions on our website under the FAQ “How do I open my output in Microsoft Excel and view it?”

 

 

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Saving a User Recipe or Other Record to Another Project in NDSR

If you would like to save a copy of a User Recipe to another project in NDSR, highlight the User Recipe, and choose ‘Save As…’ from the Record Menu at the top of the screen, or choose ‘Save As’ from the right-click menu.  You will be prompted to select the Project name from the list of available User Recipe projects.  Then edit the Recipe ID number, as NDSR will not allow you to have two User Recipes with the same ID in the program, and click ‘OK’.  You can also follow these steps to save copies of Intake records, Menus, and User Products.  You will have to change the Product ID for User Products when performing a Save As, just as you do with the User Recipe.  Menus and Intake records can be saved without changing the record ID.

 

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Going forward NDSR Training will be via Zoom

During the COVID pandemic we switched our NDSR training from an in-person to remote Zoom-based training. During this process we learned it was possible to deliver a high quality experience, with evaluations of the Zoom-based trainings on par with ratings given to our in-person training. To further assess the acceptability of this training modality we asked about your preferences in the recent NDSR Client Survey. Findings from the survey indicate that most would prefer Zoom-based training over in-person training, largely due to greater convenience and elimination of travel costs. Consequently, going forward we will continue to offer NDSR training via Zoom with in-person training discontinued. The next training is scheduled for August 9-10, 2021.  Register here by July 22 if you are interested in the training.  If the limited seats in the training are filled, registration will close early.

 

 

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New Foods

The following foods are included with the NCC News Bite for July 2021. A New Foods Backup File is available for download on our website under New Food Backup Files, “Summer 2021”.

 

• Health-Ade Kombucha – Lemon Ginger
• Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich
• Ensure Clear Nutrition Drink
• Chobani Complete Yogurt – Vanilla
• Crunchmaster Snack Crackers – Sea Salt
• Lunchables Brunchables Bacon & Cheese Flatbread with Blueberry Muffin
• Maple Cheerios
• Planet Oat Oatmilk Creamer – Caramel

 

 

This edition contains the following articles:

 

• Initiative to Add Culturally Relevant Cuisines to NDSR
• Dietary Assessment in Pregnant Women and Children ages 2 to 11 years
• Do you need a way of rapidly identifying foods that are high or low in a specific nutrient or other food component?
• NDSR Client Survey Reminder
• No Price Increase for July 2021 – June 2022

 

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Initiative to Add Culturally Relevant Cuisines to NDSR

To improve the representativeness of foods in NDSR, we have begun an initiative to add foods unique to Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, and Somali cooking traditions. Starting with NDSR 2021 watch for the inclusion of a growing number of foods for these cuisines.

 

Photo: Tomme Beevas, owner of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, Minneapolis, MN. Photographed for the MNDaily by Elle Moulin.

 

 

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Dietary Assessment in Pregnant Women and Children ages 2 to 11 years

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently held a series of four workshops to explore the evidence on methodological approaches to conducting intake assessment of food and dietary supplements in pregnant women and children ages 2 to 11 years. The workshops explored issues related to methods used to examine total usual food and dietary supplement intakes, best practices in dietary assessment applications used to estimate total intakes of food and supplements in population groups, and data gaps in dietary assessment methodologies.

 

Several NDSR Users presented data including Andrea Anater from RTI who presented on the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS). The Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS), started by Gerber in 2002, is the largest dietary intake study in the United States to examine what and how infants and toddlers eat every day. 

 

Recordings of all of the National Academics workshops are available here.

 

 

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Do you need a way of rapidly identifying foods that are high or low in a specific nutrient or other food component?

The Nutrition Coordinating Center works every day to maintain and update the comprehensive research-quality NCC Food and Nutrient Database. In addition to supporting NDSR, this database may be licensed by software developers and researcher for a variety of purposes. One of the files that may be licensed, the Nutrients Per Common Portion Size file, allows you to easily sort foods by nutrient content (e.g, identify foods highest in a nutrient like Vitamin K).  If you are interested in learning more about this file or would like to license it, contact us here.

 

 

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NDSR Client Survey Reminder

Recently, NCC sent a brief survey to the primary contact for each of our client institutions. We are conducting this survey to increase our understanding of the needs of those who use the NDSR software. If you have already responded, please accept our thanks and disregard this friendly reminder.
 
If you have not yet completed the survey, please consider helping us. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes of your time.  Your response is important as results will help us improve NDSR and our services. Thank you.

 

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No Price Increase for July 2021 – June 2022

Current prices for NDSR licensing and annual support will remain the same through June 2022. The NCC price list is available here.

 

 

This edition contains the following articles:

 

• News from the 41st National Nutrient Databank Conference
• How does NDSR compare to the ASA24?
• Historical Record of Nutrient Data Sources for Foods in NDSR
• January NDSR training on Zoom
• New Foods

 

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News from the 41st National Nutrient Databank Conference (NNDC)

 

NCC was pleased to be a part of the 41st NNDC held virtually on November 16-18.  We learned a lot about the food and nutrient database work being done nationally and internationally and the needs of the attendees. Our future database work will be strengthened by the insights we gained from this important conference.

 

We were pleased to share some of our work through oral presentations. Most notably, we shared the methodology we developed to add lignans to NDSR and we reported on the extent to which nonnutritive sweeteners are found in brand name food products in NDSR. Click on the links below to view the abstracts for each of these topics.

 

Distribution of Lignans in Different Food Categories

Nonnutritive Sweeteners in Brand Name Food Products in the U.S. Marketplace

 

Mark your calendars for the 42nd National Nutrient Databank Conference to be held in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, from May 16 to 18, 2022.

 

 

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How does NDSR compare to the ASA24?

 

A number of you have asked how NDSR compares to NIH’s Automated Self-administered 24-hour Dietary Recall System (ASA24). In brief, NDSR is a PC-based dietary analysis program for 24-hour dietary recall collection and analysis of food records, menus, and recipes. Collection of dietary recalls is carried out by an interviewer who is trained in the use of NDSR. The dietary recalls may be collected over the telephone or in-person.

 

The ASA24 is a web-based dietary analysis program for 24-hour dietary recall and food record collection. It is designed for self-administration, and thus requires the study participant have internet access and some level of literacy and familiarity with computers or mobile devices.

 

The NDSR and ASA24 differ in a variety of important ways beyond platform and mode of use. To summarize, NDSR has more foods, nutrients, and quality assurance capabilities than ASA24.  In addition, NDSR includes features that allow for analyzing the nutrient content of recipes and planning menus that meet study-specified nutrient targets.

 

More details regarding the differences and similarities of the NDSR and ASA24 are provided at the following links:

 

Comparison of NDSR vs ASA24 for 24-hour Dietary Recall Collection

Comparison of Nutrients, Nutrient Ratios and Other Food Components in NDSR and ASA24

Comparison of Food Patterns/Group Data Available in NDSR and ASA24 Output Files

 

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Historical Record of Nutrient Data Sources for Foods in NDSR

 

NCC is committed to providing you with verified and updated nutrient values in each version of our database and NDSR. In fact, did you know that NCC maintains a Reference Food Table containing a permanent historical record of every nutrient and other data element (e.g. retention factors, yield factors) used for foods into the NCC Food and Nutrient Database?  Detailed records of all data sources and imputation procedures are maintained for each nutrient value.  If you have a question about a specific nutrient value for a food entered into NDSR, you can contact us at ndsrhelp@umn.edu to inquire about the data source.

 

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January NDSR Training on Zoom

 

The NDSR Training Workshop scheduled for January 11-12, 2021 will be conducted by Zoom.  Register here by December 30 if you are interested in the January training.  If the limited seats in the training are filled, registration will close early.  We anticipate that NDSR Training Workshops will be virtual trainings through at least June 2021.

 

 

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New Foods

 

The following new foods are available to you at no additional charge with this edition of the NCC News Bite. A New Foods Backup File is available for download on our website under New Food Backup Files, “December 2020”.

• Orgain Plant Based Protein Powder – Vanilla
• Lavva Non-Dairy Yogurt – Vanilla
• Starbucks Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Sous Vide Egg Bites
• Lay’s Poppables – White Cheddar
• Thomas High Fiber English Muffin
• Zone Perfect Bar – Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Bamba Peanut Snacks
• Muscle Milk Chocolate Shake

 

This edition contains the following articles:

• NDSR 2020 is available!
• Tutorials for the Menu Planner Feature
• Foods consumed by Black immigrant groups being expanded in NDSR
• November NDSR Training on Zoom
• Deadline for Completing Certification After NDSR Training

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NDSR 2020 is available!

 

We want to make sure that everyone knows that NDSR 2020 is now available!  If your annual support is current as of July, the primary account holder at your institution should have received an email with a link to download the newest version of NDSR.  If you haven’t already, we highly recommend upgrading to NDSR 2020, as we have made program improvements and added new foods. For tips on upgrading, see our FAQ page and click on ‘Upgrading’.  If you did not receive an email with an upgrade link, contact NDSRhelp@umn.edu.

 

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New Tutorials for the Menu Planner Feature

 

We have posted three short online tutorials on our website to help you learn how to use the new Menu Planner feature available in NDSR 2020.

 

Introduction to the Menu Planner Feature (4 minutes)
Setting Up the Planner Tab in a Menu Record (5 minutes)
Using Auto Adjust in a Menu Record (5 minutes)

 

Chapter 6 in the NDSR 2020 User Manual also includes detailed instructions on using the Menu Planner feature.

 

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Foods consumed by Black immigrant groups being expanded in NDSR!

 

 NCC is undertaking a new initiative to add foods consumed by the following immigrant groups to NDSR: Nigerian-American, Jamaican-American, Haitian-American, and Somali-American. We anticipate adding foods over a multi-year period, beginning with NDSR 2021. We would love to hear from you about your needs in this area as well as any resources (e.g. recipes, cookbooks, etc.) that might be helpful to us (email NDSRhelp@umn.edu).

 

 

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November NDSR Training on Zoom

 

NCC conducted NDSR Training Workshops by Zoom since June with great success.  Feedback received from trainees continues to be positive. Future NDSR Training Workshops by Zoom are scheduled for November 9-10 and January 11-12.  Register here by October 29 if you are interested in the November training.  If the limited seats in the training are filled, registration will close early.

 

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Certification After NDSR Training

 

Individuals who attend our two day NDSR Training are eligible to be NDSR Certified (additional fee applies).  The certification process consists of completing ten practice recalls and two certification recalls with NCC trainers.  We recommend that trainees start their certification process within three to four months of when they attend the training workshop, as those who wait longer have a harder time passing their certification.  We now have a policy that individuals must complete their certification within two years of attending training.  After that, the certification fee will be charged again if you want to be certified.  For those who have paid for certification and attended training more than two years ago, we are granting a one year grace period.  If you complete your certification by November 1, 2021, you will not be charged again.  Email Julia Lorenzana Peasley at peas0027@umn.edu to initiate your certification process or ask questions.

 

 

 

 

This edition contains the following articles:

• New Nutrients coming in NDSR 2020
• Tip for Using NDSR with Dual Monitors
• Caution in Using Individual Nutrients (NTRNs) in NDSR

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New Nutrients coming to NDSR 2020

To support research on omega-6 fatty acids, we are adding the major Omega-6 fatty acids found in food (PUFA 18:2 n-6; PUFA 18:3 n-6; PUFA 20:4 n-6) to NDSR 2020. In addition, total Omega-6 (sum of the individual omega-6 fatty acids) is being added to the database and program.

 

REMINDERS:

When new nutrients or food components are added to the database and NDSR program, the new values will appear in new columns at the end of NDSR output files. 

 

Also, you can obtain new nutrients and food components for records entered in olderversions of the program by restoring records and generating outputfiles in the latest version of NDSR.

 

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Tips for Using NDSR with Dual Monitors

As using dual or multiple computer monitors is becoming more common in the workplace, we want to let you know that NDSR works best when you use it on your primary monitor.  Some functions in NDSR do not work correctly if used on a secondary monitor.  Also, if you use NDSR on your secondary monitor during one session and then disconnect the secondary monitor for the following work session, you will have problems accessing all NDSR windows on the primary monitor.  To prevent this from happening, move all NDSR windows back to the primary monitor before disconnecting the secondary monitor.

 

 

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Caution in Using Individual Nutrients (NTRNs) in NDSR

It has come to our attention recently that some NDSR users are adding or subtracting individual nutrients (NTRNs) to User Recipes in NDSR. This is being done to create User Recipes for commercial products that match the Nutrition Facts panel, and we advise against doing this for the reason described in the paragraph that follows. 

 

The NTRNs in the database were designed primarily for users who wish to create a User Recipe for a food for which nutrient values were determined by chemically analyzing the food in a laboratory setting. Beyond this intended use, the NTRNs have a limitation. The limitation is that NTRNS do not relate to any other nutrients or food components in the database. For example, if you add total protein to a User Recipe using the NTRN for protein, you are adding a specific amount of protein, but not adding calories or any of the individual amino acids associated with that protein.  Another example is the lack of relationship between different forms or units for a nutrient. For example if the NTRN for vitamin A in International Units is used to add vitamin A to a food, the other forms of this nutrient (e.g. vitamin A in Retinol Activity Equivalents and Retinol Equivalents) are not added.

 

Please note that if you are trying to adjust the micronutrients of a food, you may want to use the components for food fortification in NDSR, which we refer to as SFORs.  For example, if you want to make a User Recipe for a food to better match a product label, you could start with an NDSR food that is a close match (e.g. Cheerios).  Then add or subtract one of the components for food fortification, such as calcium or vitamin C.   We also advise using SFORs with caution, especially when subtracting an amount, as the danger is a net negative value for the food.  However, the SFORs will more appropriately maintain their relationships with other nutrients in the database as shown below.

 

 

The next image shows the difference between the SFOR calcium (first search result) and the NTRN calcium (second search result).

 

 

You are welcome to contact us with questions about the difference between using NTRNs and SFORs and what might be best for your work.  Contact us at NDSRHelp@umn.edu.