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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Nutrient Data Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #286890
Title: FAO/INFOODS Density Database, Version 2.0 (2012)

Author
item CHARRONDIERE, U - Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)
item Haytowitz, David
item STADLMAYR, BARBARA - Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Submitted to: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Technical Workshop Report
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/7/2012
Publication Date: 11/7/2012
Citation: Charrondiere, U.R., Haytowitz, D.B., Stadlmayr, B. 2012. FAO/INFOODS Density Database, Version 2.0 (2012). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Technical Workshop Report. http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/ap815e/ap815e.pdf.

Interpretive Summary: Density is the ratio of mass to volume. This has application in dietary assessment, in that if the volume and density are known of a food, then gram weight (mass) can be calculated and hence nutrient intake determined. Several national food composition tables contain auxiliary tables of density, primarily for liquids. USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies contains weight/volume data for a number of foods, from which density was derived. Additionally, a number of measurements have been made of liquids at FAO laboratories. Data from all these sources, along with published values from the scientific literature were combined to generate the FAO/INFOODS Density Database. Version 2 of the database contains data for 638 foods entries in 20 food groups from 11 sources for an additional 424 foods. Data are organized into food groups and the source of each density value is also reported. In the event that more than one source contained a density value for a given food, all are retained. Items new to version 2.0 are identified. This table will provide a valuable tool to assist scientists conducting dietary assessments in making better estimates of the amount of food consumed by study participants, and in turn, estimating their nutrient intakes.

Technical Abstract: Density is the ratio of mass to volume. This has application in dietary assessment, in that if the volume and density are known of a food, then gram weight (mass) can be calculated and hence nutrient intake determined. Several national food composition tables contain auxiliary tables of density, primarily for liquids. USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies contains weight/volume data for a number of foods, from which density was derived. Additionally, a number of measurements have been made of liquids at FAO laboratories. Data from all these sources, along with published values from the scientific literature were combined to generate the FAO/INFOODS Density Database. Version 2 of the database contains data for 638 foods entries in 20 food groups from 11 sources for an additional 424 foods compared to version 1.0. Data are organized into food groups and the source of each density value is also reported. In the event that more than one source contained a density value for a given food, all are retained. Items new to version 2.0 are identified. Values are also presented for density (including mass density and bulk density) and specific gravity depending on which was presented in the original data source. This table will provide a valuable tool to assist scientists conducting dietary assessments in making better estimates of the amount of food consumed by study participants, and in turn, estimating their nutrient intakes.