October 9, 2006
Volume 2006, No. 9
This free electronic newsletter for nutrition and health professional subscribers is managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association on behalf of the Beef Checkoff. See the end of the newsletter for communication and subscription information.
Please visit our Web site at http://www.beefnutrition.org/ for information and education materials about nutrition and health.
IN THIS EDITION
30TH NATIONAL NUTRIENT DATABANK CONFERENCE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION (ADA)
NUTRIENT DATA LAB ANNOUNCES GROUND BEEF CALCULATOR
30TH NATIONAL NUTRIENT DATABANK CONFERENCE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION (ADA)
For over 115 years, the United States Department of Agriculture has been responsible for providing data on the nutrient content of the American food supply. The first data released in 1891 provided the refuse, water, fat, protein, ash, and carbohydrate content of approximately 200 foods. Today, the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR), Release 19, provides information for more than 130 nutrients and more than 7,000 foods.
The Food Composition Products developed by the Nutrient Data Lab (NDL) serve as the primary foundation for most public and commercial databases used in the United States and several foreign countries. Government databases linked to NDL include:
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USDA-ARS
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USDA-FNS, Child Nutrition Database
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USDA-AMS Food & Community Connection
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USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion - MyPyramid Tracker
In the public sector, epidemiologic research, dietary therapy, dietary guidance for healthy individuals and nutrition policy are all based on NDL data. In like manner, registered dietitians and nutrition educators access NDL data for both therapeutic and educational purposes, as well as menu planning and preventive guidance for special populations.
The mission of NDL is to develop authoritative food composition databases and state of the art methods to acquire, evaluate, compile and disseminate composition data on foods available in the United States. In recognition of the importance of this work to registered dietitians, the NDL held its 30th Annual Conference in combination with ADA's Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition in Hawaii. The conference program included the following sessions:
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Food Composition Data: The Foundation of Dietary Assessment
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Meeting Dietetic Needs for Food Composition Data
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Databases for Dietary Supplements
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New Data for Foods and Food Components
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Advances in Database Technology and Information Dissemination
To access the Nutrient Data Lab Home Page go to Nutrient Data Home
NUTRIENT DATA LAB ANNOUNCES GROUND BEEF CALCULATOR
The latest Nutrient Database enhancement announced last month by USDA is the online Ground Beef Calculator which can provide a customized nutrient profile for all levels of retail ground beef from 95% lean / 5% fat to 70% lean / 30% fat. Ground beef is the most commonly consumed beef product and is available to consumers in a variety of packages. Until now, nutrient profiles for raw and cooked ground beef products were only available in increments of 5% beginning with 70% lean / 30% fat. Now, dietary guidance can be adapted to reflect the ground beef products actually being consumed.
The Ground Beef Calculator can be easily accessed through NDL's search program of SR 19.
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Go to Search the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
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Type in "Ground Beef" and click on "Submit."
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Select the first choice, Beef, ground beef calculator - user selects lean/fat percentage, and click on "Submit"
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The calculator will accept percentages from 30% to 5% fat or 70% to 95% lean. Enter the percentage and either the "fat" or "lean" option.
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Use the drop-down menu to indicate raw, broiled patty, pan-broiled patty, pan-browned crumbles or baked loaf.
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Click on "continue" to make the weight selection. For raw product, the choices are 100 grams, 1 pound and 4 ounces. For cooked product, the choices are 100 grams, 1 pound and 3 ounces.
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Click on "view report" to access the printable nutrient profile.
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