Comparing the nutritional composition of foods and beverages in the Canadian Nutrient File to a large representative database of Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages

Abstract

Background Nutrient information used to code dietary intakes in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) may not be reflective of the current Canadian food supply and could result in inaccurate evaluations of nutrient exposures. Objective To compare the nutritional compositions of foods in the CCHS 2015 Food and Ingredient Details (FID) file (n = 2,785) to a large representative Canadian database of branded food and beverage products (Food Label Information Program, FLIP) collected in 2017 (n = 20,625). Method Food products in the FLIP database were matched to equivalent generic foods from the FID file to create new aggregate food profiles based on FLIP nutrient data. Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare nutrient compositions between the FID and FLIP food profiles. Results In most food categories and nutrients there were no statistically significant differences between the FLIP and FID food profiles. Nutrients with the largest differences included: saturated fats (n = 9 of 21 categories), fiber (n = 7), cholesterol (n = 6), and total fats (n = 4). The meats and alternatives category had the most nutrients with significant differences. Conclusion These results can be used to prioritize future updates and collections of food composition databases, while also providing insights for interpreting CCHS 2015 nutrient intakes.