2006 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a Reimbursable Agreement between ARS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent project 1235-52000-051-00D, Development of Accurate and Representative Food Composition Data for the U.S. Food Supply. The National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) was initiated in 1997, in cooperation with the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and 17 other Institutes and Offices of the NIH, with the primary mission of improving the quality and quantity of nutrient data in USDA food composition databases. NFNAP is now coordinated through the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The dynamic nature of the U.S. food supply requires a continuous review and update of the USDA's food composition data. Not only do new foods enter the market, but also existing foods change over time, due to market pressures and new regulations (e.g., labeling changes). In 2006, Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) sampled a variety of retail foods, including fast foods (chicken), margarine, and reformulated trans-containing snack foods and baked products, from retail outlets in 12 locations across the U.S. All food samples were prepared and analyzed for a panel of more than 100 traditional nutrients, according to standard protocols. In addition, selected foods were analyzed for choline and vitamin K. During 2006, over 6,300 samples, representing over 110 food items, were sent to laboratories for specific nutrient analysis, including quality control materials. To date, NFNAP nutrient data were used to add or update 706 food items in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). Work to update and develop Release 2 of the Special Interest Database on flavonoids was completed. Significant progress in the development of the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Foods Database was made. Samples of unique AI/AN foods from Alaska Native villages and several tribes from the Northern Plains were collected, processed, analyzed and reviewed; most of the Alaska Native data were released in SR19 (2006). Examples of these foods include many types of (and preparation techniques for) marine mammals, salmon and other wild fish, and wild plants from the Midwest and Great Plains regions (e.g., lambsquarters, prickly pear, and stinging nettles). This project is ancillary to the NFNAP and used funds provided by NIH's Office of Research on Minority Health. Results from a 2005 pilot study on local samples of Latino foods are being reviewed and work is underway, in cooperation with NCI, for a larger sampling and analysis of foods consumed by the major Latino groups. USDA's food composition data are regarded as the foundation and benchmark for all second-generation databases concerning nutrition monitoring, nutrition research, and food policy in the U.S. NFNAP has enabled NDL to provide current and nationally representative data needed in response to changes in the recommended intakes generated by the National Academy of Sciences (i.e., vitamin E and folate) and issues of public health concern (e.g., caloric intake and obesity, intake of trans fatty acids, and sugars), as identified in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Healthy People 2005. In addition, food composition data for bioactive components are key elements in nutrition research projects, which investigate the role of component intake and health status.