Carotenoid Content of U.S. Foods: An Update of the Database

Accurate characterization of the association between carotenoid intake and various chronic diseases requires a current and complete food composition database of individual carotenoid values. The previous database, the 1993 USDA-NCI Carotenoid Database, was updated following a comprehensive review of new carotenoid literature and extensive analysis of carotenoid-containing foods sampled from major metropolitan areas of the U.S. The 1993 procedures were modified to accommodate recent developments in analytical methodology and changes in criteria for numbers of samples. Values for α -carotene, β -carotene, lutein+zeaxanthin, lycopene and β -cryptoxanthin from approximately 200 references were evaluated for the update. In addition to values for these carotenoids, tables include zeaxanthin values for a limited number of foods. The new database was created using previous data, new acceptable literature values, and new analytical data to yield a database of 215 foods. Mean values, standard errors, number of studies, and confidence codes were tabulated for each food. USDA Nutrient Data Bank numbers were assigned to facilitate the use of the carotenoid data with other USDA data. This resulted in the disaggregation of many food item descriptions listed in the 1993 database. An electronic version of the new USDA-NCC Carotenoid Database is available at http:/www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.