New food composition data on selected ethnic foods consumed in Europe

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition 2010-11, Vol.64 (S3), p.S82-S87
• Main Authors: Khokhar, S, Marletta, L, Shahar, D.R, Farre, R, Ireland, J.D, Jansen-van der Vliet, M, Henauw, S De, Finglas, P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/700/459/1994; 692/700/478/174; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Nutrition; Composition; Consumers; cultural heritage; Databases, Factual; Diet; Diet - ethnology; Diet - standards; Diet Surveys; Dietary Carbohydrates - analysis; Dietary Fats - analysis; Dietary Fiber - analysis; Dietary Proteins - analysis; Documentation; eating habits; Epidemiology; Ethnic food; Ethnic foods; Europe; European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR); European Union; Europeans; Fatty acids; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Food; Food - classification; food choices; Food composition; Food intake; Food products; Food selection; foodways; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Information resources; Internal Medicine; Israel; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Minority & ethnic groups; nationalities and ethnic groups; nutrient databanks; Nutrients; Nutrition; nutrition information; Nutrition Policy - trends; Nutritional aspects; Nutritive Value - ethnology; original-article; Public Health; Quality assurance; recipes; Traditional foods; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.216

Background: Reliable data on the composition of foods is needed to better understand individual diets, measure nutrient intakes and provide nutritional guidance for improving the health of the populations. Ethnic foods are becoming increasingly popular among all European consumers, and are the main source of nutrients in the diets of ethnic groups. However, there is limited information on the nutrient composition of ethnic foods in Europe. The objective of this study therefore was to generate new and reliable data on ethnic foods using harmonised methods for chemical analyses. Methods: New data on 128 ethnic foods were generated for inclusion in the national databases within the European Food Information Resource Network of Excellence through participants from France, Israel, Spain, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In each selected country, the list of prioritised foods and key nutrients, methods of analyses and quality assurance procedure were harmonised. Results: This paper presents the nutrient composition of 40 ethnic foods consumed in Europe. The nutrient composition of the foods varied widely because of the nature and variety of foods analysed, with energy content (kcal) ranging between 24 (biteku-teku, Blegium) and 495 (nachos, Italy) per 100 g of edible food. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were generally higher in most ethnic foods consumed in Italy and Spain compared with ethnic foods of other countries. Conclusions: The new data were scrutinised and fully documented for inclusion in the national food composition databases. The data will aid effective diet and disease interventions, and enhance the provision of dietary advice, in all European consumers.