Food Composition

The composition of food can vary widely, depending, among other factors, on the variety of plant or animal, on growing and feeding conditions and, for some foods, on freshness. Food tables are based on average values from a number of samples analysed in the laboratory and therefore only provide a rough guide. Because of the errors mentioned above it is likely that there will be an error of ±10%

Nutritional Information

On most products nutritional information is provided on the product packaging. The following is an example of the nutritional information provided on a packet of rice:

Typical Value:	Per 100g
Energy (kj/kcal)	497 kj 118 kcal
Protein	2.4g
Carbohydrate	20.5g
(of which sugars)	0.9g
Fat	2.9g
(of which saturates)	0.4g
Fibre	2.6g
Sodium	0.4g
Potassium	0.1g

The packaging may also include the recommended Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) that we should consume :

Gender	Fat	Sat Fat	Sugars	Salt	Cal
Women	70g	20g	90g	6g	2000
Men	95g	30g	120g	6g	2500

So what does the information tell us?

The above product information tells us that every 100g of rice contains 2.4g of protein, 2.9g of fat, 20.5g of carbohydrate and you will consume 118 calories which is 5.9% of GDA for women and 4.7% of GDA for men.

USDA National Nutrient Database

For up to date nutritional information search the USDA National Nutrient Database, Release 24 online.

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (1999) Food Composition [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/food.htm [Accessed

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: