AUSNUT (1999)
Australian Food and Nutrient Database 1999 for estimation of dietary intake
AUSNUT(1999) is a compilation of seven inter-related data files that contain descriptive and numerical data on the food and nutrient composition of Australian foods. It is a commercial version of the technical support files used to code the food intakes in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey. However users should be aware that much of the data in AUSNUT is not analytical data but has been calculated or imputed.
Please note that these files contain data only and are intended for use in software applications; a level of programming knowledge may be required to use the files to their full potential.
What do the AUSNUT files contain?
The AUSNUT files provide data for:
- Food names for 4,500 foods including 1,300 recipe foods, and brand name pointers for most processed foods;
- Nutrient values for 28 nutrients including folate (note this is not Australian data), as well as two definitions of energy, for all foods;
- Food measure descriptions and gram weights for all foods, averaging 5 measures per food;
- Recipe ingredient details, nutrient retention identifiers and moisture changes for all recipe foods;
- Nutrient retention factors for 10 vitamins and 8 minerals; and
- Nutrient definitions for all nutrients.
The following provides a brief description of the AUSNUT files. Follow the links provided to view data samples presented in Excel 2000 format.
Food File
Contains foods identified by a long and short generic name. Brand or product names are also provided to assist users in searching for, or identifying, the appropriate generically named food. Each food inAUSNUTis also assigned an 8-character alphanumeric FOOD ID based on the identification system used in the Composition of Foods, Australia series and associated data publications such as NUTTAB95.
Nutrient Files
Contain nutrient values per 100 g edible portion of food. Two file formats, Nutrient.txt (for import into database management), and Nutmatrx.txt (for spreadsheet applications) are given for the nutrient composition data.
Food Measure File
Contains data for quantity, measure and description, and gram weight of more than 20,000 food measures.
Recipe File
Contains over 1,300 recipes, mostly taken from commonly used Australian cookbooks that were used to calculate the nutrient composition of home cooked foods.
Nutrient Retention Factor File
Contains 330 sets of nutrient retention factors applied to individual ingredients in recipe calculations to adjust a recipe's vitamin and mineral content for cooking losses.
Nutrient Definition File
Defines the parameters for all nutrients given in the Nutrient Files.
To view or download more comprehensive documentation that explains the features of the data, gives background information, lists the technical file specifications, and guides users in loading the data into a database application or spreadsheet, please consult the Explanatory Notes. [pdf version]] [html version ]
Does AUSNUT replace NUTTAB95 and its supplement?
No. Although AUSNUT's Nutrient File is significantly revised and expanded compared with NUTTAB95, it should not be considered as an update to, or replacement for NUTTAB95. This is because, as a survey database, the Nutrient File values are a mixture of analytical, calculated and imputed data, rather than a compilation of mostly analytical data, as is the case for NUTTAB95. Also, the range of foods and food naming conventions are especially designed for dietary intake estimation, which for some food groups such as the Meat Group, may not be as detailed as in NUTTAB95.
How do I obtain AUSNUT?
AUSNUT99 is available free of charge on email request to npc@foodstandards.gov.au . The files are supplied via email .
FSANZ will record the contact details of those requesting copies of this publication, for the purpose of advising you of future updates or corrections to food composition data. If you do not wish your contact details to be recorded, please indicate this in your request.
Acknowledgments
FSANZ sincerely appreciates the assistance of food companies who gave permission for brand names to be included, and the licensed software companies who provided comments on the Beta release of AUSNUT 1999.