Food Composition Database in Korea

  • Published : 2004.02.01

Abstract

The food composition database is used to evaluate the nutritional value of foods in Korea. It is used as a source for basic data in many fields, not only for the establishment of the National Food Supply Plan but also for nutritional research, to aid in the drafting of the National Food Policy, and in clinical and epidemiological research. The database is also used by institutional and commercial food services and by the food processing industry among others. In 1970, the Rural Development Administration(RDA) published the "Korean Food Composition Table" for the first time and it has since become the established authority on food composition for the entire nation. The latest published food composition table (the 6th edition, published by the National Rural Living Science Institute, KDA) covers 2,337 kinds of foods and consists of two volumes. The National Rural Living Science Institute, the Korea Food and Drug Administration, and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute have continuously improved production of food composition data in Korea. As consumers have grown more interested in the quality and safety of foods and raw agricultural products, we can expect even further development of food composition data through improvements in quality and increases in quantity. We need to develop more comprehensive food composition data by diversifying the kinds of foods that are included, unifying analytical methods, and increasing the number of nutrients covered. Moreover, food composition data must be modified in other ways to make for a better food composition database for the convenience of users. of users.

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