Leveraging USDA databases to estimate population intakes of foods that are commonly consumed individually and in multi-component foods: The case of cheese

Abstract

Estimating U.S. intakes of foods consumed both alone and in mixtures is challenging. Using cheese as an example, a methodology for calculating intakes of these kinds of foods in What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is described. Food Data Central (FDC) codes that contain cheese and are included in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2017–2018 were identified using the Food Patterns Equivalents Ingredient Database. Together with information used to develop the Food Patterns Equivalents Database, every ingredient in each of these FDC codes was classified as 100 % cheese or not cheese. These deconstructed FDC profiles replaced the corresponding FDC codes in FNDDS, permitting calculation of the cheese content of every FNNDS food. Population intakes of cheese were then estimated by applying FNDDS to WWEIA, NHANES 2017–2018. Twelve percent of FNDDS foods contain cheese. Among adults ≥ 20 + years, 68 % consume cheese on any given day, and mean intake is 34 g; among children 2–19 years, the analogous estimates are 74 % and 30 g, respectively. USDA’s multiple data resources provide opportunities to address complex research questions, including those regarding nutritionally relevant foods that are ubiquitous in the food supply.