Foods that we eat and their relationship to health

Our story

Welcome to Food Research information. We have been involved in food intake assessment since 1970 when we needed nutrient data for an energy balance study. We had the energy consumption data but not the energy input data. It was then that we realized how big an undertaking it was to get simple food intake data. We were interested in only one nutrient (calories) and we had a relatively small population. It was a challenge. Since then we have developed software which supports all aspects of acquiring food intake data.

The software provides access and control over food data (food descriptions, units of measure, nutrients, etc.), subject intake data (7 day records, by meals), and extensive reporting and export of report data so that it can be used in spreadsheets or statistical packages. Of course, in the process, other related software was developed to manage recipes and convert recipe data to foods so that they could be used in subject intakes, and to create a food history questionnaire environment with integration as a tool for food intakes.

User defined tables were created for unlimited nutrient definitions and for recommended nutrient intake values which could be used with foods or food intake data. User defined food groups were added so that data could be summarized to meet the goals of the study.

With such flexible tools it became possible to innovate. For instance, one study used recalls to generate data which, when expressed in food groups could be used to formulate population specific food history questions. A question relating to pasta truly represented the pasta eaten by that population. If you do not understand these concepts, do not worry, it took us years of working with nutritionists and their studies to arrive at them.