Food composition tables in resource-poor settings: exploring current limitations and opportunities, with a focus on animal-source foods in sub-Saharan Africa.

Julia De Bruyn,John Msuya,Wende Maulaga,Elaine Ferguson,Margaret Allman-Farinelli,Robyn Alders,Ian Darnton-Hill

doi:10.1017/s0007114516003706

Abstract

Animal-source foods (ASF) have the potential to enhance the nutritional adequacy of cereal-based diets in low- and middle-income countries, through the provision of high-quality protein and bioavailable micronutrients. The development of guidelines for including ASF in local diets requires an understanding of the nutrient content of available resources. This article reviews food composition tables (FCT) used in sub-Saharan Africa, examining the spectrum of ASF reported and exploring data sources for each reference. Compositional data are shown to be derived from a small number of existing data sets from analyses conducted largely in high-income nations, often many decades previously. There are limitations in using such values, which represent the products of intensively raised animals of commercial breeds, as a reference in resource-poor settings where indigenous breed livestock are commonly reared in low-input production systems, on mineral-deficient soils and not receiving nutritionally balanced feed. The FCT examined also revealed a lack of data on the full spectrum of ASF, including offal and wild foods, which correspond to local food preferences and represent valuable dietary resources in food-deficient settings. Using poultry products as an example, comparisons are made between compositional data from three high-income nations, and potential implications of differences in the published values for micronutrients of public health significance, including Fe, folate and vitamin A, are discussed. It is important that those working on nutritional interventions and on developing dietary recommendations for resource-poor settings understand the limitations of current food composition data and that opportunities to improve existing resources are more actively explored and supported.

Highlights

Under-nutrition remains a pervasive issue of the current century, with profound implications for individual growth, development and survival, incidence of acute and chronic diseases, and national economic productivity and wealth[1]
Animal-source foods (ASF) are known to provide protein of high biological value and micronutrients such as Fe, Zn and vitamin B12 that are difficult or impossible to obtain in adequate amounts from
We focus on systematic errors present in food composition databases that may result in incorrect estimations of dietary adequacy, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) populations where the intakes of ASF are increasing[14]

Summary

Introduction

Under-nutrition remains a pervasive issue of the current century, with profound implications for individual growth, development and survival, incidence of acute and chronic diseases, and national economic productivity and wealth[1]. The development of meaningful food-based recommendations for dietary improvement relies on an assessment of existing diets, an understanding of the food resources accessible to a given population, the population’s nutrient requirements and accurate data on the nutrient content of available food items[13]. We focus on systematic errors present in food composition databases that may result in incorrect estimations of dietary adequacy, especially in LMIC populations where the intakes of ASF are increasing[14]. Food composition data are available through national and regional food composition tables (FCT) and, increasingly, in electronic formats Such resources have value in understanding the effects of diets on health, growth and development and devising diets for individuals and populations, their limitations need to be understood[16]. In a comparison of three different commonly used data sources of the macronutrient content of foods consumed in Uganda, Baingana[17] draws attention to the marked variation in results obtained, and contends that inappropriate food composition data have the potential to ‘undermine or misdirect research or nutrition efforts’

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