Which statements are true, based on the databases above.

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Switzerland

Denmark

USDA data bank

Take a look at these data to see what kind of information is included with respect to carbohydrates and fibre. Click on the links below to open the whole data sheet!

Danish Food Composition databank

Milk, skimmed

Walnuts

Schweizer Nahrwertdatenbank (Switzerland)

Champignon, roh

Poulet, Brust ( Schnitzel, Geschnetzeltes ), roh

USDA data bank

Nuts, Walnuts, black dried

Chicken, wing, frozen, glazed, barbecue flavoured

| For all foods, protein is calculated using a nitrogen conversion factor of 6.25 (crude protein = N * 6.25) In addition take a look to the EuroFoods components identifiers and INFOODS tagnames for protein. Component identifiers and tag names are used to identify food component in FCDB uniformly. See also the report: Eurofoods recommendations for food composition data base management and data exchange, page 61 en 76 |

Welcome to the case on proteins and amino acids. First have a look at some food composition databases to see what kind of information is included with respect to proteins. Take a look at the database of different countries for different foods. Click on the pictures to open the whole data sheet! Figure out what kind of information is included on proteins and amino acids.

None of the databases shown here include values for specific proteins or peptides.

Other databases use the same factor for all foods.

For some databases this factor differs between foods.

To convert Nitrogen to protein a conversion factor is used.

From the EuroFoods and INFOODS tag names it appears that protein can also be measured directly instead of calculated from nitrogen values.

In all databases shown here, protein values are based on nitrogen contents.

Some databases include only total protein values, others also have values for specific amino acids.

Wrong, there are more statements that are true. Note that the USDA databank contains values of specific amino acids. However other FCDBs such as the Schweizer Nahrwertdatenbank, contain only total protein values.

Wrong, there are more statements that are true. Note that in all databases shown above, protein values are based on nitrogen contents. To convert nitrogen to protein, a conversion factor is used. Some databases use a nitrogen conversion factor of 6.25 for all foods (e.g. the Schweizer database), other databases use food specific conversion factors (e.g. the Danish databank).

Wrong, there are more statements that are true. Take a look at the INFOODS tag names. Here you see that there are tagnames for protein determined by direct analysis. So apparently it is possible to determine protein directly.

Wrong, there are more statements that are true. Although it is possible to identify specific proteins (e.g. whey proteins in milk products) or specific peptides, usually such values are not included in FCDB.

Right! In this module you will subsequently focus on

• Methods to measure nitrogen contents in foods and how to convert nitrogen to protein.

• Methods to measure protein directly.

• Methods to measure amino acids contents of food.

But you will start with refreshing your knowledge on structure and function of proteins and amino acids in foods.

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