Construction of the Food Composition Database (FCDB)
The Food Composition Database (FCDB) is developed based on data gathered from commonly consumed food intake, primarily obtained from dietary recalls. This comprehensive database serves as a valuable resource for nutritional information.
Incorporation of External Sources
To convert the dietary data into nutrient estimation, the Bangladesh Food Composition Table (BFCT) and the Indian Food Composition Table (IFT) are utilised. These tables provided nutrient values for raw ingredients, offering a broader and more diverse range of information to incorporate into the FCDB.
Raw to Cooked Adjustments
Adjustments are made to account for nutrient retention and yield during the cooking process to capture the variations in nutrient content between raw and cooked food items. Appropriate retention and yield factors were applied to accurately calculate the nutrient values of cooked food items. These adjustments are implemented at the ingredient level, ensuring precision in calculating nutrient values for recipes involving multiple components.
Consideration of Commercial Products
The FCDB also incorporates nutrient information for ready-to-eat commercial products such as ice creams, biscuits, chocolates, and more. For these items, nutrient values were directly borrowed from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This approach ensures consistency and reliability in the nutritional data for commercially available products, as the USDA is a widely recognised and authoritative source for such information.
R.L. Lander et al., Repeat 24-hour recalls and locally developed food composition databases: a feasible method to estimate dietary adequacy in a multi-site preconception maternal nutrition RCT, Food Nutr. Res. 61 (1) (2017), 1311185.
Agriculture, U.D.o, USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6, Agricultural Research Service, Nutrient Data Laboratory Beltsville (MD), 2007.
A. Bogn´ar, Tables on Weight Yield of Food and Retention Factors of Food Constituents for the Calculation of Nutrient Composition of Cooked Foods (Dishes), BFE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2002.