The Food Composition Database for Epidemiological Studies in Italy (BDA) is a compilation-type database. Data on food composition come from pre-existing sources, such as national and international FCDBs, scientific articles, nutritional labels, industry and food laboratory analyses.

Following the compilation process, the BDA working group published a new version of the BDA in mid-2023. It now provides the energy (kcal and kJ) and nutrient composition (water, macronutrients, 13 minerals, 15 vitamins, 16 single and 5 total fatty acids, 18 amino acids, 6 sugars) for 1109 foods. In this version, the “Cereals and cereal products” food groups have been updated: “Cereals, flours, pasta, bread, crackers, rusks”, “Sweets, sugar, jams, ice creams”, and “Brioches, cookies, puddings, cakes” are the revised categories. To make the database more representative of the Italian diet, following the change in eating habits over time, 136 new foods were added. Some of the added foods are detailed below. In the cereal in grains group, buckwheat, quinoa (raw/cooked), emmer wheat (raw/cooked), couscous (dry/cooked), and 3 new rice types (venere, red, basmati) were added. Whit regard to bread and its substitutes, piadina (Italian flatbread), bread with raisins, pre-packaged sliced bread, azzimo (prepared without yeast), croutons, rice, corn and multigrain cakes, taralli (Italian savory rings snack) and pane carasau (Italian crunchy flatbread) were added. In the sweets group, new types of chocolate (dark with 70% cocoa, white with nuts, milk with puffed cereals) and new types of ice-cream (ice cream cookie, ice cream cone with chocolate and dairy cream, packaged coffee ice cream, packaged sorbet with liquorice) were added. Finally, mini tarts with jam/chocolate, muffins with blueberry/chocolate, krapfen with custard cream, apple pie, traditional Italian cakes (pastiera, pandoro, colomba) and new cookies (sandwich type, cookies with chocolate bar/chips, digestive type, and Italian traditional cookies such as cantucci and ricciarelli) were added to the sweet bakery group.

This update is also available as an editorial novelty entitled: “Food Composition Database for Epidemiological Studies in Italy. Compact edition”, edited by Patrizia Gnagnarella, Maria Parpinel and Simonetta Salvini, published by LibreriaUniversitaria.it in paper and e-book format (in Italian). The volume, in addition to the food composition tables, contains a chapter on dietary assessment tools, another on compilation methodology, and the last one on the definition of the food components included. The publication is in Italian, but in the appendix, you can find the list of foods and nutrients in English.

The website has been also updated. We have added several new features, like seeing the nutrient content by “Standard portion” (defined by the Italian Society of Human Nutrition – SINU; or as commercial/household units) and by “Self-selected portion”. In addition, the site will soon have a new design and layout.

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