Quality control procedures for the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies nutrient values

Accurate dietary assessment depends on a high-quality food and nutrient database. While much progress has been made in the quality of analytical nutrient data, the area of database quality control remains largely uncovered. Increased automation of database maintenance and update processes necessitates stringent quality control procedures. A detailed quality control (QC) plan has advanced over the years and is in place for the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) nutrient values file. Multiple checks are performed for all new and revised data at different steps of the update process to ensure integrity and accuracy in the database. Based on the purpose of the checks, they are grouped into three categories: nutrient integrity checks, database integrity checks, and database validation checks. Details of the QC checks used for the FNDDS nutrient values file and features of the QC system are given. This information can be helpful for managers responsible for maintaining nutrient databases, and discussions on this topic may stimulate development of systems to ensure integrity and accuracy in nutrient databases.