Improving data quality in food composition databanks : a EuroFIR contribution

Food composition databanks (FCDBs) should provide nutrient composition data comparable over time at national and international levels. However, the linkage between national database compilers and permanent structures to support the upgrading and monitoring of nutrient values in foods are far from sa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Accreditation and quality assurance 2007-04, Vol.12 (3-4), p.117-125
Main Authors: CASTANHEIRA, Isabel, ANDRE, Catarina, OSEREDCZUK, Marine, IRELAND, Jayne, OWEN, Linda, ROBB, Paul, EARNSHAW, Amanda, CALHAU, Maria Antonia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical chemistry
Chemistry
Composition
Data banks
Data base management systems
Documentation
Exact sciences and technology
Food
Food quality
Information resources
Information sources
ISO standards
Laboratories
Nutrition
Quality assessment
Quality assurance
Quality control
Quality management
Quality standards
Questionnaires
R&D
Recipes
Reference materials
Research & development
Spectrometric and optical methods
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Summary:Food composition databanks (FCDBs) should provide nutrient composition data comparable over time at national and international levels. However, the linkage between national database compilers and permanent structures to support the upgrading and monitoring of nutrient values in foods are far from satisfactory. This paper focuses on European efforts to improve the quality of nutrient values entered into FCDBs, emphasizing initiatives under the EU Network of Excellence: European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR – NoE). The general concept of quality assurance is described and results obtained in the project’s first year are presented. A survey among EuroFIR partners aimed at evaluating the current situation in comparability of nutrient values suggests that an integrated approach has two requirements: the implementation of a quality management system (QMS) and a harmonized data-quality assessment system (DQAS) to select values from different sources. The use of reference materials (RMs) is a key criterion in deciding on comparability and reliability of candidate nutrient values. Consequently, results of a survey on food matrix reference materials are presented. These suggest that developments in RMs for nutrient analysis in foods have a great impact on the quality of data to be included in FCDBs.
ISSN:0949-1775
1432-0517
DOI:10.1007/s00769-006-0225-6