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Food Nutrition: Better Guidance Needed to Improve Reliability of USDA's Food Composition Data

RCED-94-30 Published: Oct 25, 1993. Publicly Released: Nov 26, 1993.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Human Nutrition Information Service's (HNIS) compilation of food composition data, focusing on the: (1) criteria and procedures used to ensure the reliability of food composition data; and (2) coordination and exchange of food composition data with other countries and international groups that maintain similar databases.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Administrator, HNIS, to develop specific quality assurance criteria for HNIS staff to use in evaluating food composition data obtained from others before the data are included in Handbook 8.
Closed – Implemented
ARS has developed criteria for use in evaluating food composition data obtained from others. Also, ARS initiated action to ensure greater access to food industry-generated food composition data, while at the same time ensuring that the data are reliable through complete documentation and adequate quality control. Under this activity, ARS, working with the International Foodservice Distributors Association, is developing criteria and a standard form for collecting industry data. These actions will allow ARS to properly evaluate data for use in its food composition databases.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should direct the Administrator, HNIS, to develop procedures to better direct the generation of food composition data under HNIS contracts.
Closed – Implemented
ARS has developed quality control procedures to better direct generation of food composition data under agency contracts. ARS has included these quality control measures in two ARS contracts during fiscal year 1995.

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Topics

Agricultural productsComputer networksDatabasesData collectionData integrityGovernment publicationsInternational cooperationNutrition researchQuality assuranceQuality control