Survey identification code for foods
Food and beverage names and descriptions
Survey identification code for dietary supplements
Survey identification code for foods
Each food in AUSNUT 2011-13 has been assigned a unique 8 digit numeric identification code. The first two, three and five digits describe the major, sub-major and minor groups the food falls into within the food classification hierarchy. The last three digits are simply a consecutive number allocated to foods after they have been grouped into a logical order within a five digit group.
This is illustrated below for the major food group Non-alcoholic beverages, which has been subdivided into the sub-major food group Tea and has been further sub-divided into the minor food groups of regular and herbal teas, with an example of some of the unique foods included in these groups.
| 11 | Non-alcoholic beverages |
| 111 | Tea |
| 11101 | Tea, regular, caffeinated, prepared with water |
| 11101001 | Tea, regular, black, brewed from leaf or teabags, plain, without milk |
| 11101002 | Tea, regular, black, brewed from leaf or teabags, flavoured, without milk |
| 11101003 | Tea, green, plain, without milk |
| 11101004 | Tea, green, flavoured, without milk |
| 11101005 | Tea, jasmine, plain, without milk |
| 11101006 | Tea, chai, plain, without milk |
| 11101007 | Tea, chai, flavoured, without milk |
| 11102 | Tea, regular, caffeinated, prepared with milk or milk substitute |
| 11102001 | Tea, regular, white, brewed from leaf or teabags, with cows milk not further defined |
| 11103 | Tea, regular, decaffeinated, prepared with water or milk |
| 11103001 | Tea, decaffeinated, black, brewed from leaf or teabags, plain, without milk |
| 11104 | Tea mixed with other foods |
| 11104001 | Iced tea, homemade, unsweetened |
| 11104002 | Milkshake, bubble tea, non-chocolate or coffee flavour, cows milk, tapioca pearls |
| 11105 | Herbal tea |
| 11105002 | Tea, herbal, lemon, without milk |
| 11105003 | Tea, herbal, mint, without milk |
| 11105004 | Tea, herbal, other, without milk |
| 11106 | Tea powders and bases |
| 11106001 | Tea, chai, instant dry powder |
Each food and beverage has also been assigned an eight digit alpha-numeric food identification code from FSANZ data management system. These are provided for cross-referencing purposes to other FSANZ published data such as AUSNUT 1999 and AUSNUT 2007. A file showing the concordance of individual food codes between AUSNUT 1999 and AUSNUT 2011-13 can be found here. FSANZ has previously developed a file that shows the concordance of individual food codes between AUSNUT 1999 and AUSNUT 2007. A copy of the matching file can be found here.
Food and beverage names and descriptions
In addition to the unique 8 digit numeric identification code, users are provided with a variety of descriptive information about each food and beverage in AUSNUT 2011-13 including a detailed food name, food description, coding inclusions, coding exclusions and sampling details. This information can be found in the AUSNUT 2011-13 Food Details File, with an example of the type of information provided below.
| Food code: | 11503001 (indicates this is a non alcoholic beverage (code 11), a soft drink or flavoured mineral water (code 115) and a type of cola soft drink (code 11503) |
| Food Name: | Soft drink, cola flavour, regular |
| Description: | Carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage containing water, sugar, cola flavour, and colours, without added ice. |
| Survey flag: | |
| Inclusions: | All brands of regular caffeinated cola soft drinks such as Coke, Pepsi and other generic cola soft drink brands, regular cola soft drinks made using a soda stream, frozen coke, Chinotto. |
| Exclusions: | All diet cola flavoured or decaffeinated cola flavour soft drinks, all brands of regular caffeinated cola soft drinks containing ice. |
| Sampling details: | Moisture, sugars, ash, minerals and organic acids were derived from a composite sample of 2 brands of cola soft drink purchased in Adelaide in 1990. Caffeine was derived from a composite sample of cola soft drink purchased in Victoria in 2002. Iodine and Se were derived from a composite sample of 6 purchases made in Qld, SA and WA in November 2004 (22nd ATDS). The remaining nutrients were imputed or borrowed. |
Food and beverage names
A semi-structured naming system has been used to provide a name that is meaningful to users and describes the nature of the nutrient data relating to it.
In general the food name in AUSNUT 2011-13 captures the most commonly available form of a food and, where relevant, the exceptions to the commonly available form of the food and preparation. For example, sugar-sweetened soft drinks are simply referred to as 'soft drinks' whereas the intense-sweetened versions are referred to as 'soft drink, intense sweetened'. In situations where the common form is not obvious, nutritionally relevant information is included. For example, baked chicken breast is referred to as either 'baked, with added fat' if fat is included, or 'baked, without added fat', if fat has not been included.
The addition of vitamins and/or minerals to a food or beverage for fortification purposes is generally identified in the food name, by either identifying the specific nutrient(s) or, in certain cases where multiple nutrients are added, referring in general to the addition of nutrients, with further detail on the exact nutrients provided in the food description field. Where a food is always supplied in a fortified form, such as bread-making flour with the mandatory addition of thiamin, folic acid and iodine, this information is not included in the food name but is included in the food description.
The food name also captures where certain characteristics are unknown. This mainly relates to the nutrient profiles developed for when a respondent is unable to identify the exact food or beverage consumed. Where this is the case the words “not further defined' have been used in the food name. For example, 'Soft drink, not further defined' or 'Bread, commercial, fresh, not further defined'.
Food and beverage descriptions
The Description field provides further information about the food or beverage, such as information on its appearance, texture, common ingredients or preparation techniques.
The information in this field is not the same as the information provided in the 'Description' field for AUSNUT 1999. In AUSNUT 1999 this field provided users with information on the specific brands or product names that were represented by the generically described food. In AUSNUT 2011-13, this information is provided in a new field called 'Inclusions' (see below).
Survey flag
The survey flag identifies foods that are specific to certain components of the AHS such as the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanded Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS). If the field is blank (as shown in the soft drink example above) then the food is relevant to both components of the AHS.
Food and beverage inclusions
The 'Inclusions' field provides important information on how the nutrient profiles in AUSNUT 2011-13 were used for coding food and beverages consumed during the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Actitivey Survey (NNPAS) and/or the 2012-13 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Actitivey Survey (NATSINPAS) components of the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey (AHS).
It provides information on the specific brands of products included (for some food codes only), particular style of dishes, particular cooking methods etc. It does not provide a definitive list but it is intended to give users a guide to how the nutrient profiles were matched to foods in the AHS and how they could be used for their own purposes.
The inclusions field may also provide important information to identify where infrequently consumed foods may have been allocated.
Food and beverage exclusions
The 'Exclusions' field was developed to complement the inclusions field and provides information on what is not captured by the given food or beverage, in areas where there may be confusion.
Food and beverage sampling details
The sampling details field provides information about where the nutrient data comes from, such as the number of samples purchased for analysis, the date and place of purchase, whether the data were imputed or borrowed. This field may also highlight any specific issues with particular nutrient values, such as analytical problems and areas of uncertainty.
Survey identification code for dietary supplements
Each dietary supplement in AUSNUT 2011-13 has been assigned a unique numeric survey identification code. Where a respondent was able to identify the dietary supplement consumed using the AUST-L number, the AUST-L number has been used as the survey identification code. Where the AUST-L number was not known, FSANZ developed a survey identification code using the 5-digit classification code, followed by a consecutive number starting with one.
References
Department of Health and Ageing (2010). Guidelines for healthy foods and drinks supplied in school canteens. Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN: 978-1-74241-184-2. Available from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/phd-nutrition-canteens