Project Number: 1235-52000-051-20
Project Type: General Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 29, 2006
End Date: Aug 31, 2011

Objective:
To identify and quantify vitamin K and related compounds in representative samples of foods and dietary supplements to improve and expand analyses to the USDA Nutrient Databases.

Approach:
The Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) is responsible for developing and disseminating authoritative composition database on foods and dietary supplements in the U.S. diet. NDL has developed a Key Foods approach to help establish priorities for foods to be analyzed. Key Foods are those identified as contributing up to 75% of any one nutrient of public health significance. Key Foods from the core of foods to be analyzed supplemented by other foods deemed of particular interest due to their frequent use as ingredients or content of nutrients of emerging interest. Sampling plans will be developed for each type of food sampled, to assure a representative sampling of the food supply. Dietary supplements for analysis are identified using data from NHANES and market share data from industry sources. Samples of foods or dietary supplements will be delivered to the cooperator for analysis. In a limited number of cases the cooperator may need to develop matrix specific methods for handling and analyzing food or dietary supplement samples and preparing aliquots for shipment to other researchers for analysis of additional components. The cooperator will also offer expertise in interpretation of results of the analyses of vitamin K and related components.