Guide to Developing Accurate Nutrient Values

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of this Document

Part 1: Getting Started

I. Determine How You Intend to Use the Nutrient Values

II. Gather the Information Available About Your Product
A. What Basic Information Do You Need?
B. What Other Information Can Help You?
C. How Do You Determine a Point of Reference?

III. Consider Your Options
A. Direct Approach: Product Sampling and Laboratory Analysis
B. Indirect Approaches
1. Calculation from ingredient-specific information
2. Derivation from non-specific product information

IV. Assess Your Options
A. What Resources Are Available?
1. Expertise
2. Budget
3. Time frame
4. Available nutrient information
B. How Much Precision and Accuracy Do You Need?

V. Identify Gaps and Plan How to Fill Them

VI. Choose an Approach

VII. Apply the Approach and Calculate the Results
A. Gather the Data
B. Assess the Information
C. Calculate the Nutrient Values

VIII. Document Your Approach

PART 2: THE DETAILS

I. Uses of Nutrient Data
A. Nutrition Labelling
B. Nutrition Surveys
C. Research and Product Innovation
D. Food Intake Assessment and Diet Counselling
E. Recipe Analysis and Menu Planning
F. Nutrition Education and Information

II. Characteristics of Nutrient Data
A. Factors that Affect the Nutrients in Your Products
1. Natural variation in nutrients
2. Influences of manufacturing and processing
3. Influences of transportation and storage
B. Quantifying the Characteristics of Nutrient Values in Foods
1. Measures of typical values
2. Measures of spread
C. Characteristics of Portion Size
D. Characteristics of Nutrient Units - One Nutrient, Many Units

III. Generating Nutrient Values by Sampling and Laboratory Analysis
A. Gathering the Data
1. Designing the sampling plan
2. Collecting and handling the sample units
3. Analyzing the sample units
B. Assessing the Information
C. Calculating the Nutrient Values
D. Keeping Detailed Records

IV. Generating Nutrient Values from Existing Sources
A. Gathering Information on Your Ingredients
1. Information on ingredients
2. Information on effects of processing
B. Assessing the Data
1. Supplier information
2. Reference databases
3. Commercial databases
C. Combining the Data
1. Entering the ingredient information
2. Entering the formulation information
D. Keeping Detailed Records

V. Data for Nutrition Labelling
A. The Nutrition Facts Table
1. Nutrition Facts table: core information, standard format
2. What are Daily Values (DVs)?
3. What must be included in a Nutrition Facts table?
4. Are Canadian and US Nutrition Facts the same?
5. Who is responsible for the accuracy of nutrient values on labels?
B. Compliance Expectations for Nutrition Labelling
C. Using Means as a Label Value
D. Calculating Nutrients per Serving Size
E. Rounding
F. Use of Different Approaches to Generate Label Values
1. Direct approach
2. Indirect approach

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Appendix B: Technical Definitions of Certain Nutrients
A. Vitamin A
B. Folate
C. Vitamin D
D. Vitamin E
E. Total Dietary Fibre

Appendix C: Choosing a Consultant

Appendix D: Choosing a Laboratory

Appendix E: Accounting for Effects of Processing
A. Moisture
B. Fat
C. Vitamins and Minerals
D. Calculation of Product Values
1. Dry cake mix
2. Doughnut
3. Pre-cooked beef patty

Appendix F: Nutrient Data Gaps in Reference Databases

Appendix G: Reviewing Results of Laboratory Analysis
A. Verifying Laboratory Values
1. Check proximate components
2. Verify the energy calculation
B. Significance of Outliers

Appendix H: Critical Features of Databases and Software

REFERENCES

List of Tables
Table 1: Assessment of the Direct Approach: Product Sampling and Laboratory Analysis
Table 2: Assessment of the Indirect Approach: Using Ingredient-Specific Information
Table 3: Assessment of the Indirect Approach: Using Non-Specific Product Information
Table 4: Sources of Natural Variation in Nutrient Content
Table 5: Sampling Plan and Tolerances

List of Figures
Figure A: Sample Nutrition Facts table
Figure B: Class I Nutrients (Symmetric Distribution)
Figure C: Class II (Min) Nutrients - Limited Variation
Figure D: Class II (Min) Nutrients - Large Variation
Figure E: Class II (Min) Nutrients - Choosing a Conservative Label Value