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Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods
Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health.
We assess the safety of drugs and many -consumer products, help improve the safety of food, and provide information to Canadians to help them make healthy -decisions. We provide health - services to First Nations people and to Inuit communities.
We work with the provinces to ensure our health care system serves the needs of Canadians.
Published by authority of the Minister of Health.
Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods is available on Internet at the following address: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/cnf
Également disponible en français sous le titre : Valeur nutritive de quelques aliments usuels
This publication can be made available by request on diskette, large print, audio-cassette and braille.
For further information or to obtain additional copies, please contact:
Publications
Health Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Tel.: (613) 954-5995 or 1-866-225-0709
Fax: (613) 941-5366
E-Mail: publications@hc-sc.gc.ca
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health Canada, 2008
Require permission at all times
HC Pub.: 4771
Cat.: H164-49/2008E
ISBN: 978-0-662-46512-6
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
Nutrients and Other Components
Breads, Cereals and Other Grain Products
Vegetables and Vegetable Products
Dairy Foods and Other Related Products
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.
