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The ERS food availability (per capita) data system includes
three distinct but related data series
on food consumption. The data serve as popular proxies
for actual consumption. Food availability data are now
available through 2006 at
the
national level.
Also included are data on nutrient availability in the
food supply and data on loss-adjusted food availability.
This latter data series uses dietary recommendations from
the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans and
its supporting guidance document MyPyramid
Plan.
Data
Food Availability (also known as U.S. Food Supply Data, or Disappearance
Data) (updated March 15, 2008)
- ERS annually calculates the amounts of several hundred foods available
for human consumption in the United States.
- The data are available at the national level only (State, city, or regional data, for example, are not available).
- This data series provides estimates, for example, of the pounds of beef available for
domestic consumption per capita per year.
- The data are available on an annual basis. Most data extend back to 1909.
- Users can view or download Excel spreadsheets, or make custom queries to develop tables or
charts for specific food groups, commodities, and years.
Nutrient Availability (updated
March 15, 2008)
- Data are compiled by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
(CNPP), which uses ERS data on the amount of food available
for consumption together with data on the nutrient composition
of foods to estimate the amounts per capita per day of
food energy and 27 nutrients and food components available
in the U.S. food
supply.
- The data available on the ERS website summarize the nutrients and other food
components available per capita per day in the U.S. food supply between 1909
and 2004, and the nutrients contributed by the major food groups, per capita
per day for 1970 and 2004. The entire historical series, including an interactive
version of the data, is available on the CNPP
website.
- Users can view or download Excel spreadsheets.
Loss-Adjusted Food Availability
(also known as Food Guide Pyramid Servings Data) (updated
March 15, 2008)
- ERS adjusts aggregate food availability data for nonedible food
parts and food lost through spoilage, plate waste, and
other losses in the home and marketing system. ERS then converts the
remaining supply into daily per capita servings, as defined by
the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans and its supporting guidance document MyPyramid
Plan.
- ERS servings data can then be compared with Pyramid servings recommendations for the U.S. population.
- The data also include average daily calories (per capita) available in the U.S. food supply, by major food group and component foods.
- Users can view or download Excel spreadsheets.
- The data are available on an annual basis for 1970-2006.
Related Resources
Diet Quality and Food Consumption Briefing Room—Offers
an indepth discussion synthesizing ERS research on food availability.
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