Computerized nutrient data bases: I. Comparison of nutrient analysis systems.

Food composition tables now being compiled include a wide range of food items and nutrients. This trend is paralleled in the development of computer-stored nutrient data bases that are being utilized for numerous applications, such as cost-optimized menu planning, dietary record analysis, and nutritional assessment. In 1976, several participants at the National Nutrient Data Bank Conference agreed to cooperate in a comparative study to analyze a common one-day dietary record. The results of three subsequent analyses indicated that the values for nutrients varied considerably even after elimination of coding judgments relative to portion size and selection of food items. The results of the study indicated the need for an assessment methodology suitable for evaluating performance of a computerized nutrient analysis system.