In order to develop the nutrient facts displayed on this website, I will be be using what is referred to as Database Nutrient Analysis. Database Nutrient Analysis relies on published nutrition information, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, and information from food manufacturers and other sources.
The alternative is to send samples of the food item to a laboratory for analysis. This is done primarly by food manufacturers, but is typically too expensive for foodservice operations and anyone else doing a lot of recipe development.
I have been working in the area of Database Nutrient Analysis for the last decade, and have over 10 years experience in foodservice and nutrition. In this blog I will be discussing my process for developing these values, the tools I use, and the challenges I encounter.