Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods - Booklet

2008
ISBN: 978-0-662-48082-2
Cat. No.: H164-49/2008E-PDF (PDF Version)
HC Pub.: 4771

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Introduction

As Canadians recognize the crucial role of nutrition in the maintenance of good health, they increasingly seek information regarding the nutrient density of foods on the Canadian market.

Health Canada publishes two databases which list nutrient values in Canadian foods. The first is a large, comprehensive, computerized database called the Canadian Nutrient File (CNF). The 2007b version reports up to 143 nutrients in 5516 foods. The CNF can be accessed on the Internet at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/cnf. While this format and detail are useful to health professionals and food industry personnel, a second abbreviated, printed version is a more practical reference for many Canadians.

For this reason we have produced this booklet entitled Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods. This publication lists the nutrients most relevant in terms of public health and contribution to the food supply of 1100 of the most commonly consumed foods in - Canada. Nutrient values taken from the CNF are calculated in terms of reasonable average household measures of the ready-to-eat form of the food. These amounts are not always identical to the serving sizes displayed on Canada's Food Guide, which are determined for the purpose of providing healthy patterns of eating for a wide range of ages and gender.

Table of Content

• Facts About the Foods
• Facts About the Nutrients
• Nutrients and Other Components
• Abbreviations and Symbols
• Breads, Cereals and Other Grain Products
• Baked Goods
• Vegetables and Vegetable Products
• Fruit and Fruit Juices
• Dairy Foods and Other Related Products
• Eggs and Egg Dishes
• Fish and Shellfish
• Meat and Poultry
• Legumes, Nuts and Seeds
• Fast Foods
• Mixed Dishes
• Soups
• Fats and Oils
• Sweets and Sugars
• Snacks
• Beverages
• Miscellaneous

Facts About the Foods

This edition of the Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods is an update to the 1999 version. During this interval, changes have taken place in the food supply, in our understanding of nutrition with regards to health and disease prevention, and to nutrition recommendations.

In this updated version of the Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods, the emphasis has been placed on mixed dishes rather than individual ingredients. Detailed ingredient information is available on the CNF website.

Common recipes have been used to calculate nutrient profiles of mixed dishes. As there are multiple variations possible for recipes and ingredients, values given may not precisely match the profile of food you consume. For example, a lasagna prepared with veal and white sauce would differ somewhat from one prepared with the more common ground beef and tomato sauce. Please use these recipes as a general reference not a specific match to what you are eating.

Users may find some foods have been re-categorized, to better allow comparison between similar foods. For this reason, foods found in some categories will not match those displayed in Canada 's Food Guide.

Foods commonly consumed by Canadians have been chosen and listed alphabetically under 17 general food headings. This classification allows the user to easily locate a particular food and to compare its nutrient values to similar foods. The index should be used to locate foods whose classification may not be apparent.

Products such as infant formulas, baby foods and frozen dinners are not included. Nutrient values for these products are well documented by the manufacturers, and can be found on the labels.

Nutrient values are given for the weight of the edible portion as described. This is the portion remaining after inedible or refuse parts are discarded, and cooking losses are calculated. This is especially important to note in the meat groupings, where descriptive measure and nutrients are for the cooked product unless raw is specifically stated in the food name.

Because of the condensed version of this booklet, composites have been used in several categories. These composites are an averaging of the most common cuts or brands. The resulting nutrient profiles give approximate values that can be used if a more precise match cannot be found.

Facts About the Nutrients

The approach to choosing nutrients for inclusion in the booklet has changed. The set of 19 nutrients now varies for different food groupings. Nutrients relevant to one specific food group may not be as important to another. For example, cholesterol is present in meats but is not present in fruits and vegetables. When nutrients do not contribute significantly, emphasis is now directed towards components more specific to the group. This allows the addition of more detailed information on the types of fats in the fats and oils group, reporting of beta-carotene and lycopene in the fruit and vegetable groups, and inclusion of values for alcohol and caffeine in the beverage group.

Although trans fatty acids are of public interest, these values cannot be included in this publication. Most food values in the CNF and therefore in this booklet, are generic. For example, chocolate cookies are a representative average of the most popular selling brands in Canada and do not correspond to a specific brand name. The fatty acid content of individual brands can vary widely, and many companies are in the process of re-formulating due to consumer demand. For these reasons, the most reliable way to determine trans fat content of your pre-packaged food is to check the mandatory Nutrition Facts table found on the package.

Trace indicates a measurable quantity in the food, but too small to be included. Zeros indicate a true zero content of the nutrient. N/A indicates a lack of data or "missing value" for a nutrient. Do not assume that missing values are zeros.

The values presented are mean values for a nationwide representative sample. Some of them have a wide range of deviation based on a variation in contributing samples due to such factors as soil type, season, geography, genetics and diet.

DHA and EPA (docosahexanoic acid and eicosapentanoic acid) are long chain omega-3 fatty acids that are known to have positive effects on health. The major dietary source of these fatty acids is fatty fish.

Vitamin E is the common name for the family of antioxidants called tocopherols. Nutrition recommendations are based solely on alpha-tocopherol as this naturally occurring form is the most biologically active. Vitamin E in this booklet refers to alpha-tocopherols only.

Nutrients and Other Components

Nutrient	Unit of measure
Energy	kcal
Energy	kJ
Protein	g
Carbohydrate	g
Total Fat	g
Total Dietary Fibre	g
Saturated Fat	g
Cholesterol	mg
Calcium	mg
Iron	mg
Sodium	mg
Potassium	mg
Magnesium	mg
Phosphorus	mg
Vitamin A	mcg RAE
Vitamin C	mg
Vitamin B12	mcg
Folate	mcg DFE
Total Sugar	g
Thiamin	mg
Niacin	NE
Lycopene	mcg
Beta-carotene	mcg
Vitamin D	mcg
Caffeine	mg
DHA	g
EPA	g
Trans Fat	g
Monounsaturated Fat	g
Polyunsaturated Fat	g
Vitamin E	mg
Alcohol	g
Riboflavin	mg

Abbreviations and Symbol

cm

centimetre

DFE

dietary folate equivalent

DHA

docosahexaenoic fatty acid (22:6n-3)

diam

diameter

EPA

eicosapentaenoic fatty acid (20:5n-3)

g

gram

kcal

kilocalories

kJ

kilojoules

mcg

microgram

M.F.

milk fat

mg

milligram

mL

millilitre

N/A

no suitable value available

NE

niacin equivalent

RAE

retinol activity equivalent

tr

trace

TM

trademark (Brand name)

%

percent