Food Analysis Lab helps us understand what we eat

The Food Analysis Laboratory Control Center maintains high standards for food composition data to support nutrition research and public health policy.

By Julie Shlisky

Inside Engel Hall at Virginia Tech, the Food Analysis Laboratory Control Center serves as a national hub for the precise chemical analysis of nutrients and phytochemicals in foods.

Part of the Department of Biochemistry, the center supports research studies examining the effects of what we eat using analytical methods for food and diet analysis. Consistent diet quality and precise nutrient levels are essential for well-designed feeding trials. Laboratory analysis verifies levels of macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals required by trial design. The center also uses rigorous quality controls to ensure foods used in feeding studies remain consistent throughout the research trial.

Even foods with nutrition fact labels can have nutrient variations that introduce excessive variability to research. For example, folate — a nutrient often added to foods like bread and breakfast cereals during processing — can vary significantly from what is on the label. There are also components researchers are interested in that do not appear on the label, such as bioactives, for which food composition data are lacking or inaccurate.

The center has expertise in developing and validating analytical methods to measure a variety of nutrients and food components, including phytosterols and cholesterol, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, fatty acids, and dietary fiber. Several well-known feeding studies, including the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial, used foods and menu items developed and validated by the center to ensure all dietary targets were met. The DASH diet is now a highly-regarded diet strategy recommended by the American Heart Association.

The center’s work continues to support major national projects such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s FoodData Central and Foundation Foods database. FoodData Central is the national resource for credible, transparent information about the nutritional content of foods and food composition data for researchers, policy makers, nutrition and health professionals, product developers, and the public. 

The center also develops and distributes food-based quality control materials to research partners.

 “Even standardized testing methods can have variable results depending on how they are implemented,” said Director Katherine Phillips.

Standardized quality controls with known concentrations are used so that, regardless of where an analysis is performed, laboratories can validate their methods to ensure accurate data. 

Food-type specific quality control materials often get sent with analyses to establish accurate results.

“Commercially available reference materials are limited and expensive but important to ensure results are correct,” Phillips explained.

For a project funded by the Mushroom Council, researchers developed several control materials, including a mixed mushroom control material, that were made available to researchers. To support the harmonization of laboratory analyses assessing trans-fat in global food supplies, researchers created a suite of food control materials for the World Health Organization’s Resolve to Save Lives project.

Other support has come from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Those interested in collaborating on a research project are encouraged to reach out to the Food Analysis Laboratory Control Center early in the funding proposal process.