An update on the McCance and Widdowson Composition of Foods Integrated Data (CoFID).
We cannot assume what has existed forever in our careers, always will. Food compositional datasets underpin so much of what we do as Nutritionists. Who hasn’t heard of McCance and Widdowson data or referred to it at some point, often many points, throughout their career? One could describe it as the foundation upon which many of us have built our understanding of food and nutrition.
Danielle was asked to attend the Food & Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (Food & Nutrition NBRI) Stakeholder Engagement Event earlier this year. Below we share key points we feel passionately that our community will be interested in and want to actively support the work this group are undertaking.
What is the F&N NBRI?
Many of us in the nutrition world will have heard of the Quadrum Institute but perhaps not (yet) heard of the Food and Nutrition NBRI. This has been established as a coordinating hub for food data collection, datasets and tools used by academics, those working in industry, healthcare, government and consumers. Key to the Food & Nutrition NBRI’s objectives is consideration of the infrastructure around the data to ensure strategic needs in nutrition, health and sustainability, in policy, science and industry, are met. Its aim is to contribute high-quality research, innovation and digital resources to facilitate the transition towards a food system that is healthy, sustainable and accessible to all.
Have you heard of McCance and Widdowson food composition tables?
This is a joke! Of course you have. For those reading this who work with nutritionists or those who haven’t completed in depth training, researchers have been producing and managing data on UK food composition since 1929 which supported the publication of the world renowned McCance and Widdowson’s series of Composition of Foods books beginning in 1940 which many of us fondly still have various editions of on our bookshelves even though access to the most up to date Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) is online where the data is freely available. It can be accessed here.
How do you use yours?
A key part of this recent stakeholder meeting was to generate discussion on how this compositional dataset is currently being used. The short answer from what I heard was, “Everywhere”. Yet, exactly where is not immediately captured anywhere. And we must ensure that it is. Therein lies important information that will help inform the work of the group on the infrastructure needed to protect this vital resource for our profession.
What’s the benefit of this dataset and its ongoing support?
Simply put;
- It’s free, which guarantees availability to all. Being able to access and use data to meet the needs of all nutritionists working within a variety of sectors for different sizes and types of organisations is fundamental. It is a vital component of many initiatives which inform public health policy and research.
- It is so much more than macronutrients! In a world where the focus is often on nutrients we need to reduce intakes of, for very understandable reasons, we must not overlook the critical importance of continuing to gather data on micronutrients as well as “new nutrients” like bioactives, non-nutrients like phytates, to ensure we are as informed as possible for future developments in nutrition and health science, policy and bioscience innovation.
- In a world of proliferating data, quantity does not always mean quality. It is essential we have consistent, reliable, informed, independent, traceable, transparent, validated data upon which we can rely to inform our policy, science and innovations. It should be as up to date as possible which requires consistent investment.
How is it funded?
Although the Food & Nutrition NBRI team are supported to continue their work through funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), funding for data updates is crucial to ensure the data remain accurate. The team were fortunate to receive funding from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) as part of their new wave with industry support however in order to keep pace with the ever evolving and innovative food market and advances in nutrition research, continued funding is necessary.
This means the foundations of nutrition science as many of us would attest to, are not guaranteed. The work of Paul Finglas and Dr Maria Traka at the Food & Nutrition NBRI to maintain and update the data and build the infrastructure around this data is currently addressing this. We at Nutrition Talent want to offer them all the support we can and we are sure many within our community will want to as well. We will continue to keep you posted on developments as we hear them. In the meantime, you could think and note down all the different ways your work, in whichever sector or organisation you currently work, ultimately roots back to these foundations, that compositional data we may not access everyday but which underpins our work and that we cannot take for granted.
What action can I take? How can I help?
Please email us at info@nutritiontalent.com to share examples of the work you do that has been underpinned by the McCance and Widdowson CoFID database. Some ideas to start with ….Data for recipe analysis; NDNS intakes; reformulation targets; categories to reformulate; SACN reports; dietary analysis…we are sure there are many more! We’d love to hear from you!