NUTRITIONAL TOOLS REVIEWER

FOOD COMPOSITION TABLE (FCT)

● A table of foods w/ their equivalent nutritive values e x pressed in grams, milligrams or other units of
measure.
● The repository of food component/nutrient data
● Scientific/nutrition tool used as the basis for human nutrition and health studies
● Created on a country-by-country basis, describing the nutritional/chemical information of the commonly
consumed foods in the country
● DOST-FNRI is the only data generator and compiler for the Philippine FCT

USES OF FCT:
1. Assessment of nutrient intake
2. Planning, advising or prescribing food and nutrient intakes
3. National food and nutrition policy
4. Planning of nutrition intervention programs
5. Nutrition education

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT of FCT

The 1951 Philippine FCT

● With 383 food items
● Included local, scientific and English names of each food, edible portion, food energy, proximate
composition, three minerals and five vitamins

The 1957 Philippine FCT

● With 700 food items
● Included local, scientific and English names of each food, edible portion, food energy, proximate
composition, five minerals and five vitamins

The 1968 Philippine FCT

● With 963 food items
● Retained the 1957 food components
● Included: Table I: amino acid of some Philippine plant foods
Table II: moisture, calcium and oxalic content of some Philippine plant foods
● Glossary of local name of foods (local dialects)

The 1980 Philippine FCT

● With 1,323 food items
● Inclusion of β-carotene
● Included: Table III: phytin, total phosphorus and calcium content of some foods
Table IV: moisture, fat, cholesterol content of foods
Table V: sodium, potassium & 5 trace elements (Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn & I).
Table VI: pyridoxine, vitamin B12 and folic acid content of raw and processed foods

The 199 0 Philippine FCT

● No additional data after 1980
● Incorporated the data quality features based on INFOODS Guidelines
● First volume of a continuing computerized series
● First physiologic energy factors for calculating energy values
● Factors for calculating protein from nitrogen
● New food index of English names and other Filipino names were added

The 1997 Philippine FCT

● With 1,541 food items
● 17 food components/nutrients
● H a r m o n I z e d w I t h ASEANFOODS
● Additional food items analyzed were collected according to ASEANFOODS sampling guidelines
● Methods of analyses and calculation were presented

The 2019 Philippine FCT

● With 34,601 nutrient data
● 1,542 food items
● 23 food components
●17 food groups
● Additional 6 new food components: total sugar, sodium, PUFA
● Total dietary fiber & Vitamin A retinol activity equivalent (RAE) r eplaced crude fiber and Vitamin A
retinol equivalent (RE), respectively

PARTS OF FCT

1. Cover Design & Page Layout

● Photographed and prepared by the FCT team
● Various food items commonly found in Philippine markets
● Philippine map emphasizes that this handbook is recommended for use in the Philippines
● Final layout contained 28 columns (4=food descriptors, 24=food components/nutrients including edible
portion)
● Compared with the Phil FCT 1997 which only had 3 columns for food descriptors, a new column was
added to contain scientific names
● In the 1997 edition, scientific names were placed together w/ the food name
● Compared with the Phil FCT 1997 which only had 3 columns for food descriptors, a new column was
added to contain scientific names
● In the 1997 edition, scientific names were placed together w/ the food name

2. FCT Format & Food Identification (Food ID)

● Data presentation is similar w/ the Phil FCT 1997
● The Food Item and its description, Food ID, Scientific Name, Alternate Name and/or Common Name, and
nutrient data are presented in one line on a single page
● Each food item has one record and a unique Food ID consisting of alpha-numeric code in the first column
● The alpha-code refers to the letter assigned to a particular food group while the numeric code is the
numerical chronological order within a food group.
● The re-analyzed food items in the updated handbook have the same Food ID codes as the Phil FCT 1997
for traceability purposes.
● This is in accordance to the recommendations of the ASEAN Food Data System (ASEANFOODS) and the
International Food Data System (INFOODS)
● The Food ID already assigned to a particular food cannot be reassigned to other foods, even if the
original food item has been rendered obsolete (ASEANFOODS).

3. Nomenclature and Food Description

● Similar to other foreign FCTs, food items are listed in English under the Food and Description column
which follows the sequence of food descriptors from generic to specific (e.g. Pepper, sweet/bell, long, red).
● The Alternate Common Names are also provided which follows the same food descriptor sequence.
● When the English name is not known, the Filipino name is used in both Food and Description and
Alternate Name.
● The scientific names are presented in a separate column & they serve to facilitate association or
comparison w/ the same food items that can be found w/in or outside the country.
● Scientific names were verified, revised and/or updated based on consultation w/ experts from the
National Museum, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI),
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) and Institute of Nutrition
and Food (IHNF) of the University of the Philippines-Los Baṅos (UPLB).
● Unless specified, all food items are raw or uncooked.
● Food items with no known alternate name will have no entry in the Alternate/Common Name column.
● All entries in the Food and Description and Alternate/Common Names columns are found in the Food
Index.

4. Food Groups
● The foods are categorized into 17 specific food groups similar to the Phil FCT 1997.
● The grouping system is based on the 18 ASEAN FCT Major Food Groups with minor changes and where
the letters I, L & O are not used to avoid confusion w/ numeric codes for specific food items (Portugal,
1997).

5. Component Conventions & Modes of Expression

● All nutrient data of the updated Philippine FCT were expressed in 100g, which is the common
denominator for most FCTs/FCDBs.
● The units and decimal places used for each food component in the 2019 Phil FCT are summarized in the
next slide.

6. Edible Portion & Refuse

EDIBLE PORTION (EP)
✓ Consists of parts of food items that are eaten, cooked or preserved.
✓ For meat & meat products, this includes the flesh, skin and fat, & the extended edible casing in the case
of sausages.
✓ For fruit, EP includes peeled fruit where 0.5-1.0 cm were cut off from both ends.
✓ For leafy vegetables, this consists of the shoots or buds and undamaged leaves together w/ the tender
stem that can easily be broken by the thumb & forefinger.

REFUSE PORTION
✓ Consists of parts of food items that are not customarily eaten or used and are exluded from analysis.
✓ For food of animal origin=cartilages, hard & soft bones, skin & visible fat as indicated in the food name.
✓ For fruit=peels, crown, core or pith, inner spongy flesh w/ seeds & small portions cut off from both ends
of the fruit.
✓ For leafy vegetables=tough stems/stalks, damaged, dried or wilted leaves & tendrils (sungot baging).
7. Sampling
● Procedure used in the sampling of recently analyed food items was patterned after that of the Phil FCT
1997.
● This sampling procedure is based on the ASEAN Food Data System Guidelines (ASEAN Interim Project
Management Committee on Protein, 1989.
● Samples were taken from ten (10) food collection points, generally supermarkets, groceries or wet
markets located in the east, west, north and southsections of the Metropolitan Manila “presumed” to be
the distribution areas of the different regions of the Philippines.
● This sampling scheme does not necessarily represent the different parts of the country.

8. Energy, Nutrients or Food Components

● The values of nutrients or food components are reported on a per 100g edible portion (EP).
● This handbook includes biologically significant food components/constituents (FC) or nutrients found in
the Phil FCT 1997, w/ the addition of new food components such as cholesterol, total dietary fiber, fatty
acids, sodium & total sugars.
● The energy content is presented in kilocalorie (kcal) calculated using the Atwater factor: 4 kcal for CHO, 9
kcal for total fat & 4 kcal for CHON.
● To express energy content in kJ, the result in kcal is multiplied by 4.184 (1 kcal=4.184 kJ).

9. “Borrowing” Nutrient Values

● Since it is not possible to analyze all food components of food items included in this handbook, some of
the food data were “borrowed” from other foreign data sources.
● The borrowed were obtained from the USDA Nutrient Database (US Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Service, 2014) w/ permission.
● All food data taken from the USDA Nutrient Database were corrected for water & fat content of the food
items included in this handbook following the procedure from Greenfield (2003) & Charrondiere et. Al.
(2011).
● Thus, nutrient values from other food data sources cannot be expected to be exactly the same values
that are found in this handbook.

10. Recipe Calculation

● The ingredients of combination foods or mixed dishes together w/ their corresponding amounts in the
recipes were documented by the compilers & this information were used to calculate nutrient values in
lieu of analysis.
● Recipe calculation is one of the recommended procedures to obtain nutrient values of combination
foods & mixed dishes.
● The compilers utilized the INFOODS Compilation Software Version 1.2 to generate nutrient values of the
combination foods or mixed dishes including the FNRI-developed recipes.
● To account changes in nutrients due to cooking, nutrient values were individually recorded and applied
w/ nutrient retention factors from Bognar (2002) or USDA (2012).
● Changes in weight due to cooking were also considered through the application of yield factors to the
total weight of raw ingredients.
● Yield factors were either determined by actual cooking or obtained from Bognar (2002).

11. FNRI-Developed Recipes

● The ingredients of the combination foods or mixed dishes together w/ their corresponding amounts in
the recipes are presented in the next slide.
● This information was used to calculate nutrient values that were generated through the recipe
calculation procedure and the INFOODS Compilation Software Version 1.2. Nutrient retention factors &
cooking yield factors were also applied.
● Total weight of the recipe before & after cooking are presented in order to demonstrate the change in
weight (cooking yield factor) which is a critical factor to consider when using the recipe calculation as this
affects the nutrient contents of cooked foods.
● The ingredients of the recipes provide information on which of the ingredients is responsible for the
amount of a particular nutrient.

12. Food Index

● Contains the Common & Alternate Names, Food ID, data source codes & corresponding page numbers.
This makes the search for a particular food item a lot easier as multiple choice of names is made available.
● The food data from chemical analyses, recipe calculation & borrowed data from USDA Nutrient Database
were assigned w/ specific notations of the data source as described below:

Data Source Codes:

A1 – Newly analyzed Philippine data
A2 – Philippine FCT 1997 data
B – Borrowed data
C – Data from recipe calculation
D – Assumed/presumed data

FOOD and NUTRITION LABELING

FOOD LABELS
P r I m a r y means of communication between the producer or the manufacturer and the purchaser or
consumer.

NUTRITION LABELING
 A description intended to inform the consumer of nutritional properties.
 A system of describing processed foods or food products on the basis of their selected nutrient
content.
 Printed in food labels as “Nutrition Facts”.

TWO (2) COMPONENTS

(a) NUTRIENT DECLARATION
(b) SUPPLEMENTARY NUTRITION INFORMATION

1) NUTRIENT DECLARATION
✓ A standardized statement or listing of the nutrient content of food.

2) NUTRITION CLAIM
✓ Representation that states, suggests or implies that a food has particular nutritional properties. It
refers to statements d e s c r I b I n g t h e presence, absence or level of nutrient.

TWO (2) TYPES OF NUTRITION CLAIMS

(a) Nutrient content claim (e.g. high in Vitamin C; free of cholesterol)
(b) Comparative claim (e.g.) more protein, less sodium)

3) HEALTH CLAIM
✓ Any representation that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food or a
constituent of that food and health.

NUTRIENT FUNCTION CLAIMS

- Describes the physiological role of the nutrient in growth, development & normal functions
of the body, e.g.
- Calcium aids in the development of strong bones & teeth
- Iron is a factor in RBC formation
OTHER FUNCTION CLAIMS
- Describes specific beneficial effects of the consumption of a food c o n s t I t u e n t (or
bioactive compound) in I m p r o v I n g o r m o d I f y I n g a physiological function
REDUCTION OF DISEASE RISK CLAIMS
- Relates to the consumption of a food or food constituent (such as bioactives) to the reduced
risk of developing a disease or health related condition.
- Example: “soy protein reduces risk to developing heart disease”

NUTRITION FACTS
A statement or information on food labels indicating the nutrient (s) and the quantity of said nutrient
found or added in the processed foods or food products.

PURPOSES OF NUTRITION LABELING

 Labeling provides consumers with information about the nutritional properties of a food, thus
facilitating the selection of a healthy diet.
 The important role of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is food safety.
 Consumers should look for expiration dates ( ex: use before February 2o, 2010).
 Follow instructions for storage (e.g., refrigerate after opening and use in 2 days). •R ead
instructions on proper preparation or cooking, because reliable manufacturers have test kitchens
for quality control.

Codex Alimentarius Guidelines

1. Consumers to make a wise choice & by reading the label,
2. Manufacture or producer to convey the nutrient content or information on the label
3. Manufacturer not to mislead or deceive consumers and that, no nutrition claims are made without
approval by appropriate authorities.

NUTRITION LABELING IN THE PHILIPPINES

 The Food and Drug Administration (formerly Bureau of Food and Drug) of the Department of Health
(DOH) is responsible for nutrition labeling.
 Consumers should not buy packaged goods or not properly labeled, unless one assumes the risk of
responsibility of any future hazard of eating the food.
 The label must include an address o f the manufacturer or d I s t r I b u t or in case this information
is needed later on.
 Note that the sample label for infant foods is different from the typical food labels for adults.
  Unlike adult food labels, the infant food label does not list calories from fat, saturated fat and
cholesterol.
 The rationale is for parents not to limit infant’s fat intake, because the infants need fat for its
essential fatty acids and also as a concentrated source of calories “to fuel their rapid growth”.
 Nutrition information in food labels should be able to back up their claims.

FOOD EXCHANGE LIST 2019 (FEL)

 One of the basic tools for meal planning developed by Registered Nutritionist Dietitians (RNDs) to
compute and thereby prescribe normal and therapeutic diets for various conditions
 A tool for quick estimation of the energy and macronutrients for use in planning meals of individual
clients
 Fourth edition (2019) revised following the criteria of technical accuracy, applicability and
usefulness
 Composed of seven (7) groups containing approximately the same amounts of carbohydrate,
protein & fat w/in the group
 The unit of measure for FEL is referred to as an “exchange” wherein each food w/in the list can be
traded or substituted w/ another food for the same energy & macronutrient contents

PURPOSE OF FEL
1) Used by RNDs in diet counseling & as reference by other health professionals such as medical
doctors in their practice of nutrition
2) Updated and revised to facilitate dietary computations & as a guide in medical nutrition therapy
3) To recommend the use of a variety of food
4) To provide better flexibility in meal planning
5) Assist in meeting dietary management goals of the clients
6) A tool for nutrition education of health professionals
7) To recommend the use of a variety of foods
8) Serve as reference material for students in academic institutions
9) As reference material in clinics, hospitals, fitness centers & other health care facilities, food service
& academic institutions

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT of FEL

1953- First FEL in the Philippines was published by Corpuz designed primarily for the calculation of diabetic
diets
1965- Revised by Madlangsakay for use in both normal and therapeutic diets
1994- Third update of the FEL done at DOSTFNRI by Tanchoco et. Al.,

2019 FEL
Inclusion of representative food items in this 4th edition was based on:
(a) the updates of the FCTs
b) new food/food products available in the market
(c) commonly consumed food items from the 2013 National Nutrition Survey
(d) users’ suggestions obtained through FGD and survey
(e) suggestions from stakeholder-consultants from nutrition & medical/health organizations
CHANGES IN FEL 2019
1) Macronutrient values were primarily based on the newly updated FCTs. FCTs of other countries like
Australia, USA, Korea, ASEAN & Japan were also used in food items w/out macronutrient values in
the Philippine FCTs.
2) Food exchange groups were regrouped and renamed based on updated macronutrient contents.
3) Additional equations for deriving the Desirable Body Weight (DBW) and Total Energy Requirement
(TER) were considered.
4) Photos of sample food items per exchange, list of acronyms, abbreviations, glossary of terms were
included in the handbook.

PARTS OF FEL

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE FOOD EXCHANGE LISTS

2. FOOD EXCHANGE LISTS

- Macronutrients composition of Food Exchanges:
✓ Vegetables exchange

✓ Fruit exchange

✓ Milk exchange

✓ Rice exchange

✓ Meat exchange

✓ Fat exchange

✓ Sugar exchange

3. APPENDICES
✓BEVERAGE LIST
✓SELECTED FOOD LIST
✓FREE FOOD LIST
✓ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
✓FATTY ACID CONTENT OF COMMON FATS & OILS
✓ESTIMATION OF TOTAL ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTHY PEDIATRIC GROUP