Adequacy of a food composition database to estimate fat and fatty acid intake

This work examined the adequacy of the only food composition database available in Croatia to estimate fat and fatty acid intake. A 7-day food record with 39 participants was carried out. In addition to Croatian food composition tables (FCT1), the Swedish food tables (FCT2) were used to convert food records into quantities of total fat and saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively. The subjects simultaneously collected duplicates of all consumed food. The chemical analysis of duplicates to determine total fat and fatty acids included extraction of fat, followed by methylation of fatty acids and GC analysis. According to the comparison of methods, FCT2 are a better predictor of fat and fatty acid intake than FCT1 because of their closer agreement with analysed values. The correlation coefficients imply that both food tables estimate most of these nutrients similarly to a reference method. However, food records combined with either of the food tables could not predict intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids by men. In order to improve applicability of FCT1 in dietary surveys concerned with fat and fatty acids, the next issue should include changes in respect to an identified systematic error, as well as a greater choice of food items and their varieties. Accuracy of food records based on FCT1 could further be increased with subjects giving details on recipe ingredients, analysis of missing foods, etc.