The History of Food Composition Databases

Nutritional issues related to specific diseases, population subgroups or specific situations were an early driver for studies into the composition of foods. Some of the earliest work related to detecting adulterated foods and finding the active components of medicinal herbs. Food composition tables in the format known today were, however, not published until towards the end of the 19th century although, some tables on the chemical composition of mineral waters were assembled by Morveau as early as 1780. More widely known among the earliest tables are those published in the United States in 1896, which included values for ‘refuse’, water, protein, fats, carbohydrates, ash, and ‘fuel value’.

In particular, the increase in research into the relationship between diet and chronic disease has led to increased demand for complete, current and reliable food composition tables, and information on a far greater variety of food components, including bioactive compounds. Also, increasing international trade has led to a greater need to access data for foods from other countries. Nutrition labelling of foods is now common, and is mandatory in some instances.

Since the early 19th century, food composition data have come a long way. Food composition tables were originally produced as printed versions, and for many years this remained the only format. While printed tables are still produced in most countries, computerised databases have become increasingly important because they can hold large amounts of data and allow easy access to and manipulation of data.
Food composition databases have generally been compiled as independent national activities to meet local requirements for calculation nutrient intakes. This has made it difficult to use national datasets internationally. The recognition of the need to improve compatibility has led to the development of a number of cooperations and networks over the last 30 years, including the International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS), COST Action 99, and the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR), and much work has been done to improve the comparability of international food composition data.

Find more information about the history of food composition databases in Synthesis Report No 1 by Susan Church (The History of European Food Composition Databases), available for download here

Colombani PC. On the origins of food composition tables. J Food Compos Anal 24: 732-737, 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2010.09.007