Branded Food Products Database for Public Health

Atip Foundation, Columbia MD

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary A Partnership for Public Health: Branded Food Products Database Assessing the nutritional health of the American people depends on accurate and comprehensive data regarding the nutrient composition of commonly consumed foods. USDA?s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) maintains a National Nutrient Database of the composition of such foods, and although the food industry has compositional data for their own products, very little of that data is publicly available through the database. As part of USDA?s response to the Presidential Memorandum in October 2011, ARS approached ILSI North America to see if the organization would join with the Agency in enhancing the USDA National Nutrient Database with branded food products nutrition information. Previous efforts by USDA on their own had seen limited success which is not unexpected given the volume and fluidity of branded food products in the U.S. marketplace. Accordingly, the USDA, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America and the ATIP Foundation (Agricultural Technology Innovation Partnership) have formed a Public-Private Partnership to enhance public health by augmenting the USDA National Nutrient Database with ?nutrient composition of branded foods and private label? data provided by the food industry using GS1 standards for data criteria that are well known and utilized by the industry. This Partnership will ensure this information will be made publically available through the National Nutrient Database to those who utilize such data including the federal agencies, the research community, proprietary databases and end users, and the food industry.