The need for food composition data in Uganda

To date, Uganda does not have a national food composition table. Amongst the food composition tables commonly used are Food Composition Tables for Use in Africa (FAO tables), Tables of Representative Values of Foods Commonly Used in Tropical Countries (Platt tables), and The Composition of Foods Commonly Used in East Africa (ECSA tables). These food composition tables are compared by using them to obtain the quantity of energy, protein, carbohydrate, and fat available for consumption from the average food supply for Uganda from 1998 to 2000. The results show that there is marked variation in the amounts of energy and nutrients available for consumption when the different databases are used. The energy and fat available for consumption from starchy roots, tubers, and plantains determined using the Platt tables is 30% and 50% more, respectively, than that obtained using the FAO tables. The results illustrate that the use of different food composition tables in Uganda may cause conflicting interpretation of dietary intake data.