Food composition refers to 100 grams of edible matter, except for alcoholic beverages where the composition is given per 100 millilitres.
With the 2022 update, food composition is also reported by portion.
The coding, texts and the symbology reported in the food tables has partly changed from BDA98 to BDA08, BDA15 and BDA22. For a correct comprehension and use of data, besides each of the following explanations, all the changes were reported. We apologize for any possible omission.
Each food item is presented on a single form, also in printable format, where the following information is reported.
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Food code: this is a numerical code, unique for each food items present in the BDA
Food Name: full food item name. The scientific name can be reported in brackets.
Food Notes: containing further information for a better identification of food items (e.g. definitions related to food technology, synonyms, exact name of the food item included in the original table, particular meat cuts or sizes, ingredients in case of recipe and/or packaged products, etc).
Logo/Symbol: it shows the database version. The purple apple refers to the 2022 update, the blue apple to the 2015 update, the green apple to the 2008 update, while the red apple refers to the first version published (Salvini et al., 1998)
Food category: leads back to homogeneous categories and is shown both as a code and as a full name. Foods are divided into 97 categories.
Food components: they are subdivided into 7 groups: proximates, minerals and trace-elements, water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, sugars.
In the tables only those components for which a value was assigned are shown.
Units: defined according to international rules (Greenfield & Southgate, 2003), it is shown besides the component name.
Value: The value is defined as “traces” and a symbol tr is assigned, when it refers to negligible quantities, not measurable with the analytical methods used/declared, or to quantities less than the expected decimals.
When the value is missing the component is not shown in the table.
Source: code representing the bibliographic source from which the data is taken. Positioning with the cursor displays the full reference.
Code: it identifies which food item the bibliographical source refers to.
Class: it indicates how the data from other bibliographical source or obtained from another food items were estimated, i.e. whether and how the data has been changed (scaled and/or recalculated) or whether it remained unchanged.
The explanation is shown when pointing the cursor. For 1998 food items this code is not reported and information on how the component has been treated is listed in the “Notes”.
| Class Code | Description |
| 1 | Simple recalculation (based on dry matter) or double recalculation (based on dry matter and fat). In the updates BDA08, BDA15, BDA22 the simple recalculation was done less frequently, evaluating case by case whether to apply the simple recalculation or whether to consider the food as a similar food. |
| 2 | Similar food, unchanged values. In BDA22, foods from other databases were generally considered as similar foods. |
| 3A | Calculation based on a reference profile, from a similar food for: individual fatty acids, individual soluble carbohydrates, individual amino acids, β-carotene and retinol, protein and fat of animal/vegetable origin, proportion of soluble carbohydrates/starch |
| 3B | Calculation based on a reference profile, from a food that is exactly the same for: specific fatty acids, specific soluble carbohydrates, specific amino acids, β -carotene and retinol, protein and fat of animal/vegetable origin, proportion of soluble carbohydrates/starch |
| 4A | Calculation based on a factor/value from a similar food: available carbohydrates from the USDA tables (i.e. total carbohydrates minus fibre), pure protein, recalculation of starch from INRAN tables (1997 and 2000) and CREA-AN tables of 2019, recalculation of β -carotene equivalent, retinol or retinol equivalent from USDA and McCance, recalculation of α-tocopherol equivalent from single tocopherols and tocotrienols, Na and Cl from sodium chloride declared in the nutrition label |
| 4B | Calculation based on a factor/value from a food with the same characteristics (i.e. same food) for: available carbohydrates from the USDA tables (i.e. total carbohydrates minus fibre), pure protein, recalculation of starch from INRAN tables (1997 and 2000) and CREA-AN tables of 2019, recalculation of β -carotene equivalent, retinol or retinol equivalent from USDA and McCance, recalculation of α -tocopherol equivalent from single tocopherols and tocotrienols, Na and Cl from sodium chloride declared in the nutritional label |
| 5 | Average of several values |
| 6 | Original value unchanged |
| 6B | Original value unchanged, but there are differences >10% in dry matter and /or fat |
Notes: report the food item from which the data, the main composition data (usually the macronutrients), the original component value (if recalculated), and any comment related to the estimates and/or recalculations have been borrowed. When the data refers to another food with a similar composition, the name of the food used and the macronutrients are shown in a footnote. Recipes (or formulations) are reported in the notes when they had been used for the composition of particular dishes and/or food items to estimates some of the components and not the full item.
In this case the recipe or the formulation is cited in “Food Notes” (see above).
In version 1998 and 2008 the “full” note (containing the name and main composition of the food item) is given only once. Typically this field is only completed for the first component for which the data comes from a source that is not the one used for the food basic composition. Therefore the following notes (if referring to the same source, code and class) may be empty (in case of a similar food), or may only contain the original value (if recalculated), or may contain component-specific comments.
Here are the main abbreviations used in this field only in 1998 version:
AG = Fatty acids
APP = Appendix
CALC = Computed food component
CRO = Centro di Riferimento Oncologico – Aviano
EC = Errata corrige
FC = Conversion Factor
GD = Available Carbohydrates
GS = Soluble Carbohydrates
NCP insol = Insoluble Non Cellulose Polysaccharides
NCP sol = Soluble Non Cellulose Polysaccharides
PAG or PG = Page
RIPR = Recalculated Food Component
In 2008 version the field “Notes” reports less detailed information being replaced and supplemented by information coded in the “Class” field (see above).
In 2015 and 2022 version the “full” note is given for every component for which the data come from a source that is not the one used for the basic composition. This note includes the food name used to complete the data and macronutrients with official EuroFIR acronyms for: Water, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Starch and Sugar where available and recalculated value.
Here are some examples:
Strawberries, Raw [Morus Nigra] WATER 90.95g, PROT 0.67g, FAT 0.3g, CHO 5.68g, SUGAR 4.89g, STARCH 0.04g, SER 0.025g
Bananas WATER 75.1g, PROT 1.2g, FAT 0.3g, CHO 23.2g, SUGAR 20.9g, STARCH 2.3g, GLUS 4.8g