(PTFS01-03-26) Development of a Three-Component Nutrient Density Calculator (NDC) for Mixed Dishes to Guide Product Reformulation and Innovation

Objectives: To develop a hybrid Nutrient Density Calculator (NDC) for mixed dishes to guide recipe reformulation and product innovation.

Methods: Nutrient composition data for mixed dishes came from the US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS 2021-2023).  Included were mixed dishes with vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, grains or beans as main ingredients, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, Asian and Mexican dishes, potato and bean dishes, and nuts and seeds (n=1570). Observed portion sizes for mixed foods came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES 2017-2020/2021-23). The three-component NDC643 was based on 6 nutrients (protein, fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin D) and 4 ingredients to encourage (fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds) and on 3 nutrients to limit (saturated fat, added or total sugar, sodium). An abbreviated version NDC343 used protein, fiber and calcium only.  Nutrient density was calculated per portion size. Alternative NDC343 and NDC643 scores used different component weights.

Results: Both NDC643 and NDC343 gave high scores to vegetables, pulses, and nuts and lower scores to meat-based dishes. Nutrient density scores were modified by differential weighting of score components. Equal weighting of the three components produced NDC scores that were correlated with Nutri-Score (r=-0.64 for NDC343 and -0.70 for NDC643) and Health Star Rating (r=-0.74 for NDC343 and -0.75 for NDC643) values for the same foods. Correlations with energy density were -0.25 for NDC343 and -0.33 for NDC643. The NDC 643 model was sensitive to recipe improvements for a variety of mixed dishes—even more so than the Nutri-Score or the Health Star Rating.

Conclusions: The three component NDC model, combining both nutrients and ingredients, successfully captured nutrient density of mixed dishes and was sensitive to improvements in product recipes. Such improvements can be achieved by rebalancing product ingredients.

Funding Sources: Funding from Griffith Foods