(P29-033-23) Ready-To-Eat Cereal Updates for FNDDS 2019–2020

Objectives: Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals provide a substantial amount of important nutrients for Americans. This research describes changes to RTE cereals in the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2019-2020, an application database for analyzing intakes from What We Eat In America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods: FNDDS 2019-2020 contains 43 food codes for generic RTE cereals which represent multiple variants of cereals. Basic ingredients such as grains, sugar, oil and salt were used in a recipe calculation process to develop targeted nutrient profiles for each food code. To address the enrichment/fortification levels, 7 nutrient ingredient codes were created for the following: total dietary fiber, vitamin B composite for cereals (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12), folic acid, iron, vitamin D, vitamin C, and calcium. One to three broad levels were chosen per nutrient to reflect nutrient profiles across popular cereal types. This is a change from previous versions of FNDDS when about 130 food codes were each linked to single Standard Reference codes representing exact cereal brands and varieties.

Results: In WWEIA, NHANES 2017-2018, 20% of respondents ages 2+ reported consuming a RTE cereal, including 33% of children ages 2-19. Overall, RTE cereals contributed 18% and 15% of the total daily intake for folate (DFE) and iron, respectively. Fortified cereals were also a source of B vitamins, vitamins C and D, and calcium in several age groups of the US population. Of the 43 cereal food codes in FNDDS 2019-2020, more than 80% are fortified with vitamin B composite, folic acid, iron, and vitamin D, while 50-60% are fortified with vitamin C and calcium. The fortification level process, for example, generated a range of 211 – 1034 mcg of folate (DFE), per 100g across the cereal codes. The range for iron was 9.12 – 46.6 mg per 100g of cereal. The nutrient profiles of the food codes are comparable to those of popular cereal types as reported in company websites, published research, and FoodData Central’s USDA Global Branded Food Products Database.

Conclusions: These changes to RTE cereals in FNDDS 2019-2020 represent a new approach in database development to handle the wide variety of commercial products and their fortification levels.

Funding Sources: USDA, Agricultural Research Service