Nutritional values in NEVO

The composition of foods is expressed per 100 g of the edible part (i.e. meat without bones, vegetables without waste). The nutritional value of canned foods like canned fish (in oil), canned vegetables or fruit in syrup is shown drained (without brine of sweetened liquid).

Label information of foods such as oil and ice cream, which have a density different from water, is often presented per 100 ml. Nutritional value in NEVO then seems very different from the one on the label. Users should be aware of this difference when comparing label information with NEVO online data.

The composition of prepared infant formula is displayed per 100 ml instead of per 100 gram. When the food composition is not per 100 g of food, this is indicated in the food name.

Missing values

There is a difference between a level of 0 (the nutrient is absent) and 'no number' (the nutrient content is unknown).  Sometimes a food contains a very small amount of a nutrient, but the amount is below the limit that can be detected by chemical analysis. In this case, NEVO-online says 'contains traces of'.

If you use a nutrient table, you will probably calculate with a content of 0 in all three cases. But if, for example, when calculating an average intake, a zero is entered for missing amounts, the actual intake may be underestimated. For this reason, it is useful to have information on how completely a food table is filled in.

Some countries have a table with analytical values only. The missing data are then filled in by the users of the table. In the Netherlands, NEVO-online already tries to fill in as much missing data as possible. The reason is that intake calculations based on estimated values are always better than intake calculations based on gaps in the table.

Variability of data

Information in NEVO should be viewed as the closest approximation of actual values. Foods are subject to variations in composition for various reasons.

Natural variation among comparable foods may arise from differences in breed or variety, cultivation or breeding method, soil conditions, season, harvest time, and storage conditions.
Differences in composition may also in production although these processes are subject to stringent quality requirements. The use of different ingredients and methods of preparation,  in the industry or at home, is another potential source of variation.

Different cooking methods affect composition. For example, when cooking in water, the length of cooking time and the amount of water affect the levels of micronutrients. In baking and frying, the amount of cooking fat and the temperature affect the fat content. It is impractical to include all possible preparation methods in NEVO-online. 

For a national food table such as NEVO, it is important that the foods included are actually consumed in that country. Data from NEVO are therefore not always suitable for use abroad.

NEVO-online is a generic table as much as possible. Therefore, foods that do not differ substantially in type and composition are grouped together under one code. Due to rapid changes in the composition of especially processed foods with multiple ingredients, it is difficult to give an up-to-date picture of the range and composition of these foods in a food table.

Methods of chemical analyses

Methods change during the years and effect therefore the results. For some nutrients methods are commonly recommended, but for some this is not the case. An example is fibre, for which still new methods are developed. Fibre can be detected by different analytical methods, and the results are not comparable. The method used for chemical analyses is shown in NEVO-online, at 'product details'.

Comparability with older food composition tables

If you use old tables you should consider some things. The nutritional values can differ because of changes in the recipe of the food. Old values can be replaced by newer analytical results; so a different nutritional value does not  mean that the food is really changed.