1. Nutritional composition of Tunisian prepared foods (dishes)
Global Challenges Research Fund and WHO Training Workshop: Standardization of Regional Food Composition Tables
Rabat, Morocco, 8-10 May 2018
Nutritional composition of Tunisian prepared foods (dishes)
Jalila EL ATI and collaborators (Tunisian and French)*
INNTA- National Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (Tunisia)
Organisation information
The INNTA is a Public Health Establishment, founded in The institute’s activities encompass the whole area of food, nutrition and health.
Aims? The institute’s researcher team has to its credit wide range of investigations, with a view to identify nutrition problems prevalent among the population; to control quality of available food products; to monitor diet and nutrition situation; to conduct operational research connected with planning and implementation of nutrition programmes; to disseminate nutrition information
Funds? from the Government and INNTA own income.
Food composition data produced, used or published? The main database used is the Tunisian food composition table published in 2007 in both printed and computerized form.
Current work
Food composition work being done? We are analyzing the changes in food consumption patterns, nutrient intake, and diet-related diseases by age, gender and rural/urban location over time using Food Balance Sheet Data and individual food consumption data.
Data produced from? Foods that are most commonly consumed in terms of both frequency and amounts (raw, cooked and processed). Nutrients: major components (water, protein, total fat, carbohydrates, ash, dietary fibre and energy); inorganic constituents (sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, fluoride, iodine, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, sodium, zinc); vitamins (vit A, Beta Carotene, vit D, vit E, vit B1, vit B2, vit B3, pantothenic Acid, vit B6, biotin, folate, vit B12, vit C).
Foods analyzed? Salt, sugar, fat, protein, moisture and ash of some food items are analyzed.
Other sources of data? Few Tunisian food items were analysed and the composition of the remaining food items was taken from other tables or databases (USDA, Canada, UK, France) or published literature as well as imputed and calculated values.
How is the data published? Scientific papers, reports, communications, mass media message.
Dietary monitoring methods used? To assess dietary adequacy, food consumption data are collected at the individual level using food records, 24-hour dietary recalls, food frequency questionnaires, diet history and/or food habit questionnaires.
Future plans and Challenges
Consumption and variety of composite foods are ever increasing, so it is impossible to analyze the nutrient composition of all of them.
Challenges?
Regarding composite foods, some compilation process are problematic and should be better clarified:
Which recipe calculation procedure to use?
Which nutrient losses and gains factors as well as ingredient weight changes factors to use?
How to adjust the nutrient levels to reflect changes in fat or water of the final recipe?
what to do when you have several recipes for the same dish?
Training? To harmonize food composition data and data management, short courses ion food analysis, food composition data, method of compilation, sources of values, differing types of values, coding, food nomenclature and modes of expression should be planned for both compilers and users (analytical chemists, food scientists, nutritionists and dietitians).
Outcomes
More information on:
methods of compiling food composition databases;
quality considerations in the compilation of food composition database;
recipe calculation methods;
food nomenclature;
nutrient analysis and expression;
principle of food sampling;
data quality assurance programmes. .
* Chiraz Béji, Houda Ben Gharbia, Samia Cherif, Tarek Trabelsi
Eric Verger, Pierre Traissac, Edwige Landais, Francis Delpeuch