About the Nutritional Databases

 The ESHA master database is composed of about 30,000+ food items, with data from more than 1500 reputable sources. The data sources include the latest USDA Standard Reference database, selected items from the CSFII survey database, manufacturer’s data, data from fast food companies and data from literature sources. Each of our 160 nutritional components is individually sourced. In addition, we provide several calculated fields, such as the percent Calories from fat and niacin equivalents. We also group foods into detailed food categories and provide hand calculated diabetic exchange and pyramid groupings for each item. Mathematical checks are run on the database before each update release to ensure data accuracy and integrity.

The nutritional databases that are shipped with our software products are a custom subset of the ESHA master database. The Genesis database contains all items that are in the Food Processor database, plus nutritional data for chemicals and flavoring agents.

Both Genesis and Food Processor also provide the Canadian Nutrient File.

The Canadian Nutrient File (CNF) is compiled by the Nutrition Research Division of Health Canada. The latest version offers values for 5516 foods and 143 food components. This database works seamlessly with our ESHA database to offer a combined nutritional database of approximately 37,000 foods. Per licensing agreement, ESHA Research does not modify the nutritional composition of the CNF in any way. Some of the original CNF food names have been shortened, however, in order for them to read more easily in the software. For questions regarding the CNF visit their web site: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/food-aliment.

Contract customers who lease the database to use with their own software, may customize their own subset of the ESHA master database to match their specific needs. For more information regarding the database, contact our Nutrition team at nutrition@esha.com.