A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The US Agricultural Research Service has launched an updated version of its flagship database that reports on the nutrients present in 6,220 food items. The Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 15 or SR15 for short, is the major authoritative source of food composition in the United States - both generic and brand-name food items are included.
Information is derived from US Department of Agriculture research, qualified food industry sources, USDA-sponsored contracts and evaluated scientific literature. A single food item's complete profile boasts 117 nutrient categories, which appear in columnar format.
Newly developed algorithms are used to evaluate data for scientific accuracy, and quality control programs maximise data reliability. Meat product categories in particular have been improved. Ground beef data now reflects new market trends and the demand for lower fat products. Nutritive profiles were added for a variety of emu, ostrich, deer, bison and elk products as well as for eight new beef cuts. Many brand-name, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals and confectionery products were updated to reflect current names and nutrient values.
The method for reporting vitamin A equivalents has changed from micrograms (mcg) of retinol equivalents to retinol activity equivalents, or RAEs. This change was made to adopt the same standard used by the National Academy of Sciences in the new Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for vitamin A.