Dear all, This is an interesting question and I would like to ask those who have done chemical analysis of foods using tap water and salt compared to distilled water without salt, what are the differences. I guess that mineral contents are much lower in the second option as a lot of the minerals are leaking out to the cooking water (due to osmosis). In ESFA/FAO/WHO (2011) Towards a harmonised Total Diet Study approach: a guidance document (found at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/efsajournal/pub/2450.htm), we recommend to use tab water and salt to avoid underestimation of the mineral content. I believe this is another area which could profit from revisiting the issue in food composition. Best wishes Ruth From: Food Composition Discussion Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of HIWOT ABEBE Sent: 24 May 2013 18:59 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: water for cooking Dear all, I was working on a project to improve bioavailability of nutrients on chickpea and haricot bean based Ethiopian diets using traditional household food preparation techniques like soaking and germination. I will be cooking the dishes in Canada using food items shipped from Ethiopia and then I will analyze the nutrient and antinutrient levels. However, I am concerned about using tap water in Canada. I thought that it will affect the mineral values of the food. Could anyone share me their thought or articles if I could use deionized water to solve the issue or other suggestions. Thanks in advance, Hiwot A Haileslassie PhD candidate College of Pharmacy & Nutrition University of Saskatchewan 110 Science Place Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9 Canada cell phone: +1 306-715-3659 e mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the InFoods-Food-Comp-L list, click the following link: https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=InFoods-Food-Comp-L&A=1 ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the InFoods-Food-Comp-L list, click the following link: https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=InFoods-Food-Comp-L&A=1