Management of food composition database harmonized with EuroFIR criteria using a web application

Abstract

Web application represents a form of an innovative research tool for capacity development in food and nutrition that is otherwise not commonly exploited. A web application for food composition database (FCDB) management has been produced by the research team of the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Belgrade, Serbia. In this web application that was also used for development of Serbian FCDB, basic entity is food. Every food has information on names, component values, other identifiers and physical properties, standard food classifications and general food description (coded with Langual thesaurus). Related entities are recipes with all ingredients and retention factors, as well as sample information. In our previous research we identified the need for new national/regional FCDB in the Balkan region. Use of this web application in managing FCDB can provide new quality data harmonized with proposed EuroFIR guidelines. This will enable good communication and easy data interchange between different FCDBs in Europe. In addition, this web application can be a useful training tool for FCDB capacity development on national and/or regional levels and can promote knowledge, skills development and vision in food composition research, training and education.