The New Zealand Food Composition Database is a reference database with the primary role to provide reliable nutrient values for foods commonly consumed in New Zealand. Plant & Food Research and the Ministry of Health jointly own the New Zealand Food Composition Database, the most comprehensive collection of high-quality nutrient data for New Zealand foods. The Database is managed and maintained by dedicated Plant & Food Research staff.

The New Zealand Food Composition Database contains nutrient information for over 2,850 foods. The majority of foods have been analysed in New Zealand with a smaller percentage of data coming from other sources such as recipe calculations or by borrowing from other countries.

Carolyn Lister, Subathira Sivakumaran, Zane Gilmore, and Kris Tham are the key people responsible for managing and maintaining of the database.

Data from the New Zealand Food Composition Database is available through three different formats:

1. Our online Search , which allows users to search the database of over 2,850 foods and produce a tailored report
2.  New Zealand FOODfiles™, which includes data for up to 434 components for over 2,850 foods, downloadable as Microsoft Office Excel or tilde delimited ASCII text files
3. The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, which are printable tables for 38 components for 1,281 foods in PDF or Microsoft Office Excel

All three formats contain the same core food and nutrient data.

Yes, you are free to copy and communicate data as long as you comply with the Terms of Use for the use of the New Zealand Food Composition Database and you correctly reference the database format as given below. The data must not be modified.

Suggested citations for New Zealand Food Composition Database formats
New Zealand Food Composition Database Online Search
New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024. New Zealand Food Composition Database Online Search. The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited and Ministry of Health. https://www.foodcomposition.co.nz/search

New Zealand FOODfiles™ 2024
New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024. New Zealand Food Composition Database: New Zealand FOODfiles™ 2024. The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited and Ministry of Health. https://www.foodcomposition.co.nz/foodfiles

The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 14th Edition 2021
New Zealand Food Composition Database 2022. The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 14th Edition 2021. The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited and Ministry of Health. https://www.foodcomposition.co.nz/concise-tables

New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual
New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024. New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual. The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited and Ministry of Health. https://www.foodcomposition.co.nz/foodfiles

All three New Zealand Food Composition Database formats use the same core data set – FOODfiles™ 2024. The majority of the entries in the New Zealand Food Composition Database have been analysed in New Zealand with a smaller percentage of data coming from other sources, such as recipe calculations or by borrowing from other countries.

To generate the data, most foods are purchased through supermarkets and other retail channels, just as the consumer would purchase. The majority of the data were derived from analysis of a composite sample of varieties, regions, and/or seasons or, for processed products, similar products from different brands within a category. Samples are prepared for analysis, which is then conducted by accredited laboratories in New Zealand and Australia. Files are available that show details of the food sampling and source of the individual nutrient data. Details can be found in the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB] and in selected files downloaded with New Zealand FOODfiles.

FOODfiles™ 2024 incorporates the most recent analytical data (2021–24) or significant data updates for 380 Food Records. A total of 97 Food Records have been archived from the FOODfiles™ 2021 and are not available in the FOODfiles™ 2024. Most of these Food Records were replaced with new Food Records generated from the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2021-24 analytical programme. Additional errors identified in the FOODfiles™ 2021 have been amended in the FOODfiles™ 2024. Details of the updates appearing in FOODfiles™ 2024 can be found in the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5MB] and in the supplementary files here.

Users need to be aware that the data do not represent absolute values due to natural variability and formulation changes by manufacturers. Data are provided are typically representative of foods available in New Zealand. The majority of the data were derived from analysis of a composite sample of varieties, regions, and/or seasons or for processed products similar product from different brands within a category. Details about the foods analysed (description and sampling details) can be found in the file ‘NAME.FT’ downloaded with New Zealand FOODfiles™.

The New Zealand Food Composition Database is unique in New Zealand with regards to data quality. Unlike some databases where information is obtained from labels only, the majority of values are based on New Zealand analysis (or recipe calculation based on New Zealand data). An enormous amount of effort goes into producing the data – everything from sampling and analytical plans to validation, all in accordance with international best practice.

The classes of fatty acids may not add up to the total fat value provided in the database because of differences in analytical methods. Lipid conversion factors for specific fats define the amount of fatty acid (in grams) per gram of fat. The lipid conversion factors used in the New Zealand Food Composition Database are available on request from Plant & Food Research (foodcomp@plantandfood.co.nz).

In FOODfiles™ 2024, energy values are calculated according to standards issued by two authorities: FAO/INFOODS guidelines (FAO/INFOODS 2012) with and without inclusion of dietary fibre and Standard 1.2.8 (Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2013) with two means of including the carbohydrate contribution to energy. In addition the energy values can be expressed as either kilocalories (kcal) or kilojoules (kJ). The appropriate data for your use will depend on its purpose; for labelling purposes in Australia and New Zealand the FSANZ data should be used.

The calculations for various energy values are explained below.

Energy based on FAO/INFOODS

• Energy, total metabolisable: calculated from the values of energy-producing food components and appropriate conversion factors. The energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; available carbohydrates by weight; total fat; and alcohol.
• Energy, total metabolisable (including dietary fibre): calculated from the energy-producing food components and appropriate conversion factors. The energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; available carbohydrates by weight; total fat; alcohol and total dietary fibre.

Energy based on FSANZ Standard 1.2.8

• Energy, total metabolisable, carbohydrate by difference: energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; carbohydrates by difference; total fat; alcohol; dietary fibre and organic acids.
• Energy, total metabolisable, available carbohydrates: energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; available carbohydrates; total fat; alcohol; dietary fibre and organic acids.

Further details can be found in the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB].

Further details about methodology and calculations can be found in the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB].

Further details about the source of the data can be found in the file ‘Unabridged DATA.FT’ which is downloaded with New Zealand FOODfiles. The detailed descriptions of the codes are provided in the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB].

Total sugars are determined analytically and the values in the database are the sum of the free individual monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) and disaccharides (lactose, maltose and sucrose). Added sugars are defined according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) definition: “sugars that are either added during the processing of foods, or are packaged as such, and include sugars (free, mono- and disaccharides), sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices that are in excess of what would be expected from the same volume of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices of the same type. The definition excludes fruit or vegetable juice concentrated from 100 percent fruit juice that is sold to consumers (e.g. frozen 100 percent fruit juice concentrate) as well as some sugars found in fruit and vegetable juices, jellies, jams, preserves, and fruit spreads”. Free sugars are defined according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition: “free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices, and fruit juice concentrates”.

The reduction of added or free sugar intake (sugars added to food and drinks as a sweetener) is almost universally recommended to reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases and dental caries. The World Health Organisation recommends intakes of free sugars of less than 10% of energy intake. However, estimating and monitoring intakes at the population level is challenging because free sugars cannot be analytically distinguished from naturally occurring sugars. Total sugar measures do not distinguish if those sugars are naturally occurring or have been added during processing. University of Otago developed added and free sugar estimates for the New Zealand Food Composition Database by adapting a method developed for Australia (see New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB]). Having this data provides more direct estimates of the added and free sugar contents of New Zealand foods than previously available, and will enable monitoring of adherence to free sugar intake guidelines in future.

There are various ways that vitamin A intake can be expressed, taking into account the conversion of carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, to retinol. Retinol equivalents (RE) in the database are calculated by multiplying beta-carotene equivalents by the conversion factor (1/6, i.e. 0.167) and adding retinol. Retinol activity equivalents (RAE) in the database are calculated by multiplying beta-carotene equivalents by the conversion factor (1/12, i.e. 0.083) and adding retinol. This latter value should be used for FSANZ labelling purposes.

When using the SEARCH feature for a food the data is included under the basic and detailed reports (find these under ‘select component set to display’). You can also use the ‘Search for a nutrient’ feature and select these components as a nutrient. In the Concise Tables the added/free sugar data is not in the body of the report (because many foods don't have them) and so you can find it in Appendix III.

Derivations of all the component values in the NZFCD are now described with data provenance codes. In FOODfiles 2024 there are two sets of data that differ in their value derivation descriptions. At present the full set of new data provenance codes are used only for the new and updated foods added since the 2018 release (i.e. the 2021 and 2024 releases). Note that these Food Records do not have ‘Source Code’, since that is the old way of recording data derivation. The remaining foods migrated from FOODfiles 2018 are still using the old description ‘Source Code’ along with ‘Unit Code’ and ‘Matrix Unit Code’. The full list of data provenance descriptions can be found in FOODfiles 2024 downloadable files (‘Data provenance.xlsx’).

Seventy-four new components have been added to the unabridged DATA files. Of these, two new components, galactose (GALS) and total dietary fibre by the AOAC 2017.16 method (FIBTLC), have also been added to the standard DATA files. Two additional fibre classifications have been added to the unabridged data set: ‘Fibre, high molecular weight (LC)’ (FIBHMW) and ‘Fibre, low molecular weight (LC)’ (FIBLMW). Choline (CHLON) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (ERGCALOH) have been added but only for a small number of foods. The remaining components are individual fatty acids, expressed in two units: g per 100 g edible portion and g per 100 g Total Fatty Acid (TFA). The list of the added components can be found in the following update file: ‘List of components updated in current version of FOODfiles.xlsx’.

The most commonly used methods for dietary fibre analysis in the NZFCD are enzymatic–gravimetric methods (AOAC 985.29/991.43). However, this method does not measure all components of dietary fibre, which can result in an underestimation of dietary fibre for some foods (most are accurate). A newer Rapid Integrated Total Dietary Fiber method (AOAC 2017.16) introduced in 2015 more accurately measures all components. This method is now being used for selected foods where the older methods do not provide an accurate total for dietary fibre (as evidenced by a low total proximate sum with the old dietary fibre total). For the online Search, the highest of the two values is used for the NIP and Claimable data sets, while other data sets present both values.

The dataset that is searched and extracted from for the web access format is the most up-to-date published data – FOODfiles™ 2024. Note we will be making continuous improvements to the search functionality. This iteration of the search tool has been developed with a focus on the food industry and is based on FSANZ standards for food labelling. Future releases will be tailored to meet the needs of other user groups.

At present percent daily intakes presented in the search results are calculated using the reference values used for food labelling purposes as given by FSANZ. These are based on an average adult diet of 8700 kJ. Your individual requirements may be different depending on your life stage and gender group. It is important to note that these daily intakes are different from the Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs) for Australia and New Zealand published by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). Future versions of the search tool will provide these more personalised daily intakes.

The first format that a search delivers is a nutrient information panel. By selecting a nutrient claims report, you can also add addition nutrients to your NIP. For the NIP reports we have ensured data are presented using the FSANZ calculations (e.g. for energy). Please make sure you are familiar with FSANZ labelling requirements. FSANZ also provides useful information on NIPs.

There are many more foods on the market in New Zealand than available in the New Zealand Food Composition Database. Our priority is to analyse the most commonly consumed foods but there are so many new and/or imported foods that we can’t analyse everything. You can try looking at other international food composition databases as provided in the Useful Links. In particular, the USDA database FoodData Central is very comprehensive and includes a large database of branded products, although just a limited number of nutrients are provided for these.

Here are some troubleshooting ideas:

• Try using the search functionality with a different web browser, or update your current browser if you can. We've tested the search functionality extensively with recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer (version 11). If you have another browser on your device, please try that and see if it helps.
• If you are within a corporate environment with a firewall, try accessing the search functionality on a mobile phone browser. If that works, try tethering a laptop to the phone to bypass the firewall and see whether you can access the search functionality with the laptop browser. Alternatively, try to access the search functionality using a personal computer from home to bypass any corporate security controls.
• The first time that you access the search functionality your browser needs to download a number of files behind the scenes, which it subsequently reuses. It may take a while for those files to download the first time that you access the search functionality, especially if you are on a limited bandwidth connection like mobile data. If you return to the search functionality with the same device and browser, it should be faster to start up the next time.
• Try a specific search that will return only a few results, like 'Tofu' (three results at present). Make sure that you are searching across 'All' food groups. Searches with many results may take a while to appear, especially if your Internet connection has limited bandwidth.

The online Search will allow you to compare up to three foods. If you want more than this, you can download:

1. New Zealand FOODfiles™ (data for up to 434 components for over 2,850 foods) Microsoft Office Excel or tilde delimited ASCII text files
2. The Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables (printable tables for 38 components for 1,1281 foods) in PDF or Microsoft Office Excel

A ■ does not necessarily mean that a food does not contain that nutrient (i.e. a blank cell is not the same as a zero). There is a core set of nutrients that are always analysed, calculated or in some cases presumed zero. If this is the case, a value will be recorded. Other nutrients may not be analysed for every food. If appropriate data cannot be sourced in other ways then the cell will remain blank.

Not all nutrients have established recommended daily intakes. If no recommendation is published in the FSANZ regulations/and or there is no nutrient composition data then the cell will be blank.

At present the online search provides composition data for around 200 food components. These include the set of core nutrients that are routinely analysed for all foods. Some additional data (e.g. less common minerals and selected contaminants) is not provided via the online search but is available in the Unabridged data set of FOODfiles™ which you can download here.

There is natural variability in all foods. The New Zealand Food Composition Database provides representative data founded on a sampling methodology to best represent the food in distribution through typical retail channels. For fresh produce the composition may vary by many factors including variety, season and source location. Composite (manufactured) product Nutritional Information Panels may be derived from calculating the composition from recipe components, or might be specifically analysed for their nutrient composition. Differences between New Zealand Food Composition Database values and the NIP may occur where the NIP is for an individual product whereas the New Zealand Food Composition Database is often a composite of similar products.

Yes, in some cases you can. In the FSANZ regulations it states that there are a number of methods commonly used to derive food composition data to develop a nutrition information panel. Amongst these authorised sources is “food composition tables or databases”. The New Zealand Food Composition Database provides data that complies with FSANZ requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure your product matches the description provided in our database if you plan to use this data for a label declaration. For the NIP reports we have ensured data are presented using the FSANZ calculations (e.g. for energy). Please make sure you are familiar with FSANZ labelling requirements. FSANZ also provides a useful Nutrition Information User Guide.

Individual product data can be included in the New Zealand Food Composition Database and provided on this website (www.foodcomposition.co.nz).

If you are thinking of making a nutrient content or health claim for your product and promoting the product on this basis, then having your product’s data in an internationally-recognised independent database like the New Zealand Food Composition Database will help underpin your promotional activities and provide a point of difference for your product.

To include a product in the New Zealand Food Composition Database, a complete composition and nutrient profile is required to be independently generated. To meet the international standard for food composition databases, the product is analysed by accredited laboratories in New Zealand and Australia using recognised protocols. To meet these standards, our scientists source the product from its normal distribution chain then organise the submission of product samples for analyses, validate the results, and add the product’s composition and nutrient data to the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

If you would like to discuss the inclusion of your product in the New Zealand Food Composition Database and on this website along with the cost of doing this please contact us at: foodcomp@plantandfood.co.nz.

The preference is to use the ‘Vitamin A, total: expressed as retinol activity equivalents (VITA_RAE)’ value for FSANZ labelling purposes but there is also acceptance of ‘Vitamin A, retinol equivalents’. However, that later value will differ from those used more widely internationally because of the difference in the conversion factors for the carotenes to retinol.

There are a number of ways by which energy is calculated. There are two different methods for calculating energy allowed under the FSANZ standard:

1. Energy, total metabolisable, carbohydrate by difference (ENERC_FSANZ1): energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; carbohydrates by difference; total fat; alcohol; dietary fibre and organic acids.
2. Energy, total metabolisable, available carbohydrates (ENERC_FSANZ2): energy-producing food components taken into account are: protein; available carbohydrates; total fat; alcohol; dietary fibre and organic acids.

Please read the New Zealand Food Composition Database 2024 Data Manual [PDF 1.5 MB] or contact us at: foodcomp@plantandfood.co.nz.

If you wish to provide us with feedback on our search tool or report an issue please complete our online form: Submit here.