Collecting Brand and Product Names in the USDA Automated Multiple Pass Method (AMPM) 24‐hour Dietary Recall

Abstract

Brand and product names collected from respondents in dietary surveys often provide specific characteristics of foods/beverages which can assist in assigning nutrient profiles to those foods/beverages. They can also be used to create direct links between a food/beverage reported by a respondent and a product specific nutrient profile in a food composition database. Using brand and product names reported by respondents can result in reduced processing time and effort and can increase the specificity and amount of detail about foods available from dietary surveys. In order to accomplish this, both the dietary survey collection system and the food composition database need to include brand and product names and respondents need to know the brand and product name of items they report. USDA/ARS is working to obtain branded food product label data in electronic format that can be made available in the USDA food composition database. The Partnership for Public Health: Branded Food Products Database, composed of USDA/ARS, the International Life Sciences Institute North America and the Agricultural Technology Innovation Partnership Foundation was established to increase the knowledge of the nutritional content of the nation's food supply by obtaining comprehensive food composition data from food manufacturers. USDA/ARS included the collection of selected brand and product names in the design and development of the AMPM. The USDA AMPM collects 24‐hour dietary recalls for the What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). AMPM uses a research‐based, multiple‐pass approach which has 5 steps designed to encourage complete and accurate dietary recall and reduce respondent burden. The purpose of this research is to describe the use of AMPM brand and product name questions. AMPM questions and responses were analyzed for 15,885 complete and reliable dietary recall interviews in the 2011–2012 WWEIA, NHANES. AMPM questions were identified as asking for brand or product specific responses based on the text of the question. In 88% of the 2011–2012 AMPM dietary recall interviews, respondents were asked at least one question about the brand name of a reported food/beverage. Both days for both males and females averaged three questions about brand names per interview. There were no differences in the percentages (p < .05) between the day 1 and day 2 interviews or between males and females. Overall, 70% of the brand name responses matched a description in the AMPM, 10% of the brand name responses did not match an AMPM description, and 20% of the responses recorded that the respondent did not know. Collection of brand and product names in dietary recalls is becoming more important for producing comprehensive dietary survey data. Their collection in the AMPM interview demonstrates that respondents are able to provide this information.Support or Funding InformationARS, USDA