The nutritional composition of selected ethnic foods consumed in Italy

Abstract

Summary Assessment of the nutritional quality of some selected ethnic foods consumed in Italy was performed within the framework of the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR 1 ) Network as part of the ethnic foods Work Package. A definition of ethnic and modified ethnic foods, as well as guidelines on the characterisation of immigrant populations and a detailed stepwise analysis of the ethnic food market, have been developed within the EuroFIR project. These were the basis for selecting ethnic foods in Italy for nutritional analysis. Four main immigrant groups (Asian, Latin American, African and Eastern European) were identified as commonly selected from those residing in Italy, and 25 dishes or composite foods consumed by these ethnic groups were selected. Based on con- sumption rates and market share of these foods in Italy, five ethnic food types (cantonese rice, nachos, falafel, kebab, sarmale) were chosen and collected for analysis. Nutritional evaluation of the selected foods was performed by analysing the following components: water, nitrogen, fat, total sugars, starch, total ash and dietary fibre, fatty acid composition, cholesterol, minerals (Na, Ca, Fe, P, Mg, K, Cu, S, Zn and Cl), and vitamins (vitamins A, E, B1, B2, B6, C, biotin, niacin and b-carotene). Procedures for collection of the chosen foods, along with the results of the analysis, are described in the present paper. These new data will be added to the Italian Food Composition Tables.