We all know that adequate nutrition is one of the most important pillars of public health. Before developing and implementing effective intervention programs for improving nutrition at the population level. Often, we talk about nutritional information, cost-saving and organization. But, what exactly does nutritional analysis entail? How do you understand nutritional analysis? Does it help or hurt the business and its consumers? With the help of the article, you can find a bit more about what we think about the nutritional analysis. How you can get started implementing the same and start growing your business?
What is Nutritional Testing?
Nutritional labelling
is the process of determining the nutritional content of the food. It is a vital
part of analytical chemistry, which provides information about the chemical
composition, processing, quality control and contamination of food. The test
ensures compliance with trade and food laws. However, there are varieties of
certified methods that professionals use for performing nutritional value testing. Analyzing
the nutritional value of food allows the scientific determination and measuring
of the nutritional composition of different food products, which are
significant to the authorities and consumers.
For conducting food nutrition analysis, food companies send
samples to the laboratories for physical analysis. The analysis accounts
for the changes in the nutritional value, which results while cooking and
processing the food. However, it is of extreme value as calories tend to
increase and decrease during the cooking process, which further depends on the
method used. For instance, added fats in the food increase the calorie content during
frying and decrease while you grill your food. Moreover, you can add salt to the
food during the preparation of the food, which finally increases the final sodium
content of the dish.
How is Nutritional Testing Done?
Nutrient Analysis Software
This technique allows the use in determining the nutritional
content of any food. But, the quality of the analysis highly depends on the
accuracy and standardization of the recipes. Standardized recipes are those
that a food service operation adapted or retrieved. However, if the food service operation uses the same quantity and quality of ingredients, the
standardized recipes yield the same results in nutritional analysis.
Moreover, the analysis gets limited to the selection of
the ingredients available in a food database. The approach fails to consider the
effects of cooking and processing of food items, which dramatically alters the
nutrient content of the food.
Immunoassays
The method is widely used in food analysis for detecting and
quantifying proteins in a given food. The professionals and laboratories use
the method for three reasons. First, the
nutritional testing near me primarily used immunoassays for detecting cheap
ingredients used to substitute high-quality products. Secondly, the nutritional testing labs apply the
method in detecting and quantifying proteins involved in intolerance and
allergic reactions to certain types of foods. Lastly, the method provides a way
of detecting tissue-specific antigens present in food that might be associated
with transmittable encephalopathy.
Mass Spectrometry
The method involves the separation of ionized atoms and
molecules according to their differences in mass to charge ratio. Atoms and
molecules have varied patterns of fragmentation and hence mass spectrometry
provides the best way to the identification of the structural components. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
provides the pathway for the use of mass spectrometry in food analysis.
GC-MS is a method for qualitative and quantitative analysis
of the components such as sterols, alcohol, low mass carbohydrates and fatty
acids. It also involves the detection of food contaminants such as pesticides,
toxins, drugs and pollutants. The method is considered a major method for
detecting fatty acid composition. GC-MS helps in quantifying polyphenols in
fruits and vegetables, which is a chemical compound that is naturally present
in plants.
Importance of Nutritional Testing
Assessment of Energy and Nutrient Intake
The estimation of the nutrient intake from food consumption
requires reliable data on food composition. These data are fundamentals of
food-based dietary guidelines for healthy nutrition, containing all the
necessary information on food sources for different nutrients. Furthermore, the food nutritional labelling provides
accurate information on the chemical forms of nutrients along with the presence
and amounts of interacting components, thereby providing information on
bioavailability. For certain nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin E and niacin,
the concept of equivalence is introduced to account for differences in the
availability and biological activity of different chemical forms.
Non-nutritive Food Components
Although food nutritional
value testing focus on energy, macro well as micronutrients, yet the
tables focus more on the non-nutritive components. If we consider the beneficial
effects of biologically active secondary plant cell components such as
carotenoids and polyphenols, we require more data on them. On the other hand,
we even come across several naturally occurring or manmade non-nutritive substances,
which has several negative effects. Through food nutrition analysis, one can
know the dietary sources of these substances and control their exposure.
Agrochemicals, industrial pollutants reaching the food chain
and byproducts formed during food production are a few examples of manmade non-nutritive
substances. For undertaking a valid risk assessment, the laboratories require data
on exposure and the contents of contaminants present on foods. However, these
data varies diversely and are variable even within narrowly confined regions.
Nutrition Counselling
The nutritional testing lab near me provides information about the origin of substances found in food that can also influence their usability. For example, the German Nutrient Database
does not discriminate between naturally occurring and added sucrose impeding the
estimation of added intake of sucrose, which needs to be limited. Nutritional testing laboratory not only analyses the nutritional
status, but also provide the basis for the formulation of food-based dietary
guidelines that helps in improving the dietary needs of the population. Nutritional value testing helps in
translating nutrient-based recommendations into a form that is most applicable
to consumers.
Planning Clinical and Therapeutic Nutrition
One of the most special applications of nutritional testing involves diet composition is planning
nutrition as a part of therapy. Diseases like diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia
are some of the well-known examples that require avoidance or acute monitoring
of certain nutrients. Although the data on the total contents of fat and
carbohydrates and major acid classes are available, yet there is less
information on other components with pathological relevance such as fructose,
lactose, certain amino acids, antigens and gluten.
Information on food composition is of the greatest importance for scientists as well as practitioners working in the fields of nutrition and public health. The most apparent role is providing the basis for dietary assessment and formulating healthier diets. Nowadays, the ready meals and food served in canteens also include the following approach as they contribute to the daily nutrition of the people.
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