US Department of Agriculture Food Composition Databases, the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2013-2014, and the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Version 28 Yield Significantly Different Nutrient Totals of Food Items from Eight Midwestern Food Pantry Inventories

Abstract

Background: Food pantries are part of the food environment that serve as a resource to individuals having low or very low food security. Determining whether or not application of two US Department of Agriculture food composition databases to foods in the food pantry environment estimate nutrient means differently will inform interventions aimed to improve these food environments.

Objective: To quantify and compare amounts of key nutrients within the food items included in eight midwestern food pantry inventories and evaluate the quality of the match of these foods as assigned to two food composition databases, the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2013-2014 and the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference version 28.

Design: This cross-sectional, secondary analysis used data from Voices for Food Clinical Trial (2014).

Setting: Food pantry inventories were recorded from four food pantries in Indiana and four in South Dakota from US Department of Agriculture-classified nonmetro counties with high poverty.

Main outcome measures: Main outcomes measured were least square nutrient means for the total food pantry inventory and by food group.

Statistical analyses performed: Ranked nutrient means and food-match scores that quantified how closely the recorded description matched the database food descriptions were estimated and compared between databases using the Wilcoxon unpaired two-sample test and Fisher exact test. Multiple one-way adjusted analysis of covariance tested for significant differences in least square mean nutrient values between databases.

Results: For the total pantry inventory, ranked least square means of total fiber; calcium; potassium; vitamins C, D, A, and B-12; choline; and sodium differed significantly between databases, whereas among all food groups, vitamins A and D differed. Food items in the total pantry inventory more closely matched with the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference version 28 than the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2013-2014 (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference version 28 more closely matches food items from Midwestern food pantry inventories compared with the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2013-2014.

Keywords: Food composition database; Food environment; Food insecurity; Food pantry; Nutrient quantification.