Nutrition analysis

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Nutrition analysis refers to the process of determining the nutritional content of foods and food products. The process can be performed through a variety of certified methods.

Contents

Methods

Laboratory analysis

Traditionally, food companies would send food samples to laboratories for physical testing. Typical analyses include:

Carbohydrates and energy values are normally calculated from these analytical values.

Software

Software is available as an alternative to laboratory nutrition analysis. This software typically utilizes a database of ingredients that have previously been laboratory tested. The user can input ingredient data by matching their ingredients to ingredients found in the database; the analysis can then be calculated.

Online nutrition analysis

In recent years, web-based nutrition analysis software services have become more popular. Online nutrition analysis allows users to access online databases and draw from certified ingredients to produce instant nutrition information.

Turnkey nutrition analysis services

Another emerging trend is the use of nutritional analysis services that do a complete analysis of any recipe by using their proprietary database. Users provide recipes, cooking methods and serving sizes. In turn, the service provides a complete nutritional analysis.

Applications

In the United States, nutrition information is required on packaged retail foods in the form of nutrition facts panels as a result of food labeling regulations. [1] In recent years, many restaurants have begun posting nutrition information as a result of both customer demand and menu-labeling laws. [2]

Nutrition facts label

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law March 23, 2010, includes a provision that creates a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure standard for food service establishments.[ citation needed ]

The nutrition-disclosure provision requires chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations to provide specific nutrition labeling information. Those establishments must post calories on menus, menu boards and drive-thru boards. Buffets, salad bars and other self-service items are also included and will be required to provide caloric information adjacent to the item. [3]

Recently many state and local menu-labeling laws have been passed requiring restaurants to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards, or have it readily available upon customer request. [4] Restaurants have had to perform nutrition analysis in order to generate nutrition information and conform to these laws. More recently national legislation has been introduced that would set a national standard for menu labeling, the most popular of which is the LEAN act.

Animal feed

The reported analysis of animal feed typically uses raw values from laboratory results, commonly listing the moisture content, crude fat, crude protein, crude ash, fibers, and net energy. Some nutritionally-important values such as chloride, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper may also be reported. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooking</span> Preparing food using heat

Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire, to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting local conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calorie</span> Unit of energy used in nutrition

The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter of water by one degree Celsius. The small calorie or gram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to cause the same increase in one milliliter of water. Thus, 1 large calorie is equal to 1000 small calories.

Food energy is chemical energy that animals derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscular activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point of sale</span> Time and place where a retail transaction is completed

The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt, as proof of transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast food</span> Food prepared and served in a small amount of time

Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredients and served in packaging for take-out/takeaway. Fast food was created as a commercial strategy to accommodate large numbers of busy commuters, travelers and wage workers. In 2018, the fast food industry was worth an estimated $570 billion globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menu</span> Listing of available food options being sold

In a restaurant, the menu is a list of food and beverages offered to customers and the prices. A menu may be à la carte – which presents a list of options from which customers choose – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is offered. Menus may be printed on paper sheets provided to the diners, put on a large poster or display board inside the establishment, displayed outside the restaurant, or put on a digital screen. Since the late 1990s, some restaurants have put their menus online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maltodextrin</span> Polysaccharide of glucose

Maltodextrin is a name shared by two different families of chemicals. Both families are glucose polymers, but have little chemical or nutritional similarity.

The foodservice or catering industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital signage</span> Sub-segment of electronic signage

Digital signage is a segment of electronic signage. Digital displays use technologies such as LCD, LED, projection and e-paper to display digital images, video, web pages, weather data, restaurant menus, or text. They can be found in public spaces, transportation systems, museums, stadiums, retail stores, hotels, restaurants and corporate buildings etc., to provide wayfinding, exhibitions, marketing and outdoor advertising. They are used as a network of electronic displays that are centrally managed and individually addressable for the display of text, animated or video messages for advertising, information, entertainment and merchandising to targeted audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psicose</span> Chemical compound

D-Psicose (C6H12O6), also known as D-allulose, or simply allulose, is a low-calorie epimer of the monosaccharide sugar fructose, used by some major commercial food and beverage manufacturers as a low-calorie sweetener. First identified in wheat in the 1940s, allulose is naturally present in small quantities in certain foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutrition facts label</span> Table of nutrition facts on food labels

The nutrition facts label is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients are in the food. Labels are usually based on official nutritional rating systems. Most countries also release overall nutrition guides for general educational purposes. In some cases, the guides are based on different dietary targets for various nutrients than the labels on specific foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet food</span> Animal feed for pets

Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as "human grade".

When the predecessor of international fast food restaurant chain Burger King (BK) first opened in 1953, its menu predominantly consisted of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. After being acquired by its Miami, Florida franchisees and renamed in 1954, BK began expanding its menu by adding the Whopper sandwich in 1957, and has since added non-beef items such as chicken, fish, and vegetarian offerings, including salads and meatless sandwiches. Other additions include a breakfast menu and beverages such as Icees, juices, and bottled waters. As the company expanded both inside and outside the United States, it introduced localized versions of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. To generate additional sales, BK occasionally introduces limited-time offers of special versions of its products, or brings out completely new products intended for either long- or short-term sales. Not all of these products and services have been successful; in 1992, Burger King introduced limited table service featuring special dinner platters, but this concept failed to generate interest and was discontinued.

Nutritional rating systems are used to communicate the nutritional value of food in a more-simplified manner, with a ranking, than nutrition facts labels. A system may be targeted at a specific audience. Rating systems have been developed by governments, non-profit organizations, private institutions, and companies. Common methods include point systems to rank foods based on general nutritional value or ratings for specific food attributes, such as cholesterol content. Graphics and symbols may be used to communicate the nutritional values to the target audience.

Founded in 1990, Healthy Dining is a California-based company offering nutrition analysis services for the restaurant and foodservice industries and is the nutrition partner of the National Restaurant Association. Healthy Dining is staffed by registered dietitians, researchers, and communication and digital professionals who serve as a Menu Labeling partner for restaurants.

Calorie count laws are a type of law that require restaurants to post food energy and nutritional information on the food served on menus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table reservation</span>

A table reservation is an arrangement made in advance to have a table available at a restaurant. While most restaurants in the vast majority of the world do not require a reservation, and some do not have a policy or simply any channel for making one, so-called higher-end restaurants mainly in overcrowded cities often require a reservation, and some may have tables booked for weeks in advance. At particularly exclusive venues, it may be impossible to make a reservation on the same day as the planned visit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of fast food</span> Overview about the criticism of fast food

Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children-targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship with fast food, particularly in relation to children.

Food composition data (FCD) are detailed sets of information on the nutritionally important components of foods and provide values for energy and nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals and for other important food components such as fibre. The data are presented in food composition databases (FCDBs).

Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that standard menu items at qualifying chain restaurants and vending machines have proper nutrition labeling. Though the Affordable Care Act was signed into federal law in 2010, implementation of the menu labeling requirements was delayed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration several times until they went into effect on May 7, 2018.

References

  1. Food Labeling and Nutrition Overview
  2. "McDonald's Menu to Post Calorie Data (Published 2012)". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2022-11-24.
  3. "Issue Update:Menu Labeling". Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  4. Center for Science in the Public Interest
  5. "Understanding Feed Analysis". UNL Beef.

Examining Customers' Intention and Attitude Towards Reading Restaurants' Menu Labels by Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour