Food Composition Databases: Does It Matter to Human Health?

Abstract

Food provides humans with more than just energy and nutrients, addressing both vital needs and pleasure. Food habits are determined by a wide range of factors, from sensorial stimuli to beliefs and, once commanded by local and seasonal availability, are nowadays driven by marketing campaigns promoting unhealthy and non-sustainable foodstuffs. Top-down and bottom-up changes are transforming food systems, driven by policies on SDGs and by consumer's concerns about environmental and health impacts. Food quality, in terms of taste, safety, and nutritional value, is determined by its composition, described in food composition databases (FDBs). FDBs are then useful resources to agronomists, food and mechanical engineers, nutritionists, marketers, and others in their efforts to address at maximum human nutrient needs. In this work, we analyse some relevant food composition databases (viz., purpose, type of data, ease of access, regularity of updates), inspecting information on the health and environmental nexus, such as food origin, production mode as well as nutritional quality. The usefulness and limitations of food databases are discussed regarding what concerns sustainable diets, the food 'matrix effect', missing compounds, safe processing, and in guiding innovation in foods, as well as in shaping consumers' perceptions and food choices.

Keywords: food data; health promotion; national food composition databases; natural substances; one health; sustainable foods.

Figure 1

Some facets provided in FoodOn and their relations to a certain food product, of which primary objective is to provide the vocabulary to describe a given food. Reprinted with permission from ref. [26,27]. 2017. Roger A Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0).

Figure 2

A basic food product, in this case an apple, can be a simple anatomical part, in this case a pome fruit, deriving from a particular plant species (Malus domestica) of a specific variety (Fuji). Reprinted with permission from ref. [26,27]. 2017. Roger A Smith (cc-by-sa/2.0).

Figure 3

Main features, common uses, identified gaps, and expected trends of food composition databases (original figure by Anthony Fardet; photos: INRAE for bean food matrix under optical microscopy and Amélia Delgado for the meal table).