Dear all,
It is with great pleasure to announce that we have published the new FAO/INFOODS/IZiNCG Global Food Composition Database for Phytate – Version 1.0 (PhyFoodComp1.0) which you can download free-of charge from http://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tables-and-databases/faoinfoods-databases/en/
· The PhyFoodComp database is the first global repository of analytical data on phytate in its different forms and determined by different chemical methods, as well as of iron, zinc, calcium, water, and different phytate:mineral molar ratios. This database is important as phytate, mainly contained in pulses and cereals, is considered an anti-nutrient because it interferes with the absorption of minerals, especially of iron and zinc.
· The PhyFoodComp database will provide food composition compilers, nutritionists and researchers with access to good quality analytical phytate data and bibliography. Emphasis is put on demonstrating variations in phytate contents and their influencing factors. The aim of PhyFoodComp is to :
· demonstrate best ways to reduce phytate contents in foods and recipes;
· motivate users to include phytate data into national or regional food composition tables or databases;
· design better diets for mineral deficiencies;
· develop well-targeted nutrition projects, programmes and interventions related to mineral deficiencies such as iron and zinc; and
· reconsider re-evaluating the impact of phytate in diets on the bioavailability of iron and zinc when establishing their nutrient requirements.
I am sure you will be astonished about some data and the capacity of some processing methods to lower phytate contents in foods.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Janet King from IZiNCG, who co-funded this important work through a fund received from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to Canigó’s scholarship program led by la Generalitat de Catalunya (which funded the 6-month internship of Sergio Dahdouh at FAO Rome), and to FAO for provide the remaining funds. I would like to thank Sergio Dahdouh for his dedication and leadership in the process, as well the other co-authors (Fernanda Grande, Sarah Nájera Espinosa, Morgane Fialon, Anna Vincent, Rosalind Gibson, Janet King, Doris Rittenschober, U. Ruth Charrondiere) for contributing their expertise and time, and those who contributed otherwise to this publication (Paul Hulshof, Claudia Lazarte, Catherine Leclercq, Agnieszka Balcerzak, Pauline Allemand, Francesco Vernazza, Karl Bailey, Anna Lartey, Guenter Hemrich, Maria Xipsiti, Giorgia Paratore, Diana Carter, Abisola Babalola) and Chiara Deligia for guiding the publication through FAO´s long publication process.
I hope you will all enjoy working with the new FAO/INFOODS/IZiNCG Global Food Composition Database for Phytate and in the future include more phytate data into your national and regional food composition tables or databases, develop diets and complementary foods with lower phytate contents, make better research on zinc and iron bio-availability and thus together contribute to diminishing iron and zinc deficiencies.
All the best and thanks again to all those who contributed to get this database be developed and published.
Ruth
P.S. There are many newcomers to the INFOODS listserv. I would like to renew my appeal to all to please be careful to write only to those concerned. Avoid ‘reply to all’ except you think that your answer is of general interest. If not, please write only to the person whom you wish to direct your reply to. This is important. Thanks in advance for your understanding and I count on your careful evaluation of your intend before using ‘reply to all’
P.P.S. Please distribute widely
U. Ruth Charrondiere, PhD
Nutrition Officer
INFOODS coordinator
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
FAO of the UN
Dag Hammarskjold 3241
Vitacura, Santiago, Chile
Tel. +56-2-29232105
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