Key foods in Sweden: Identifying high priority foods for future food composition analysis

High quality food composition data are essential in cutting-edge research, for example on diet and health, so regular updates and improvements of food composition data are necessary. However, food analyses are expensive, and for optimal use of resources, tools to aid prioritisation are required. This study sought to identify key foods in the Swedish diet, in order to set priorities for future nutrient analyses of foods. A slightly modified version of the key foods approach developed by the Nutrient Data Laboratory in the United States was used. Existing nutrient values were combined with food consumption data from the national dietary survey Riksmaten Adults 2010-11. Key foods were identified group-wise using key nutrients for each food group. Of the 1894 foods included in the survey, 320 (17%) were identified as key foods contributing 75% of intake of the key nutrients in each food group. These key foods will be prioritised in future food composition analyses.