The new project, which is being carried out by the ARS Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL), is designed to complement the agency's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference - a compilation of nutrients found in food products.

The databases act as a source of comprehensive information, available to consumers and dieticians, on the nutrient intake of Americans. They also serve as a basis for the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) MyPyramid Tracker, an interactive internet service that provides a customized nutritional 'audit' based on the foods and beverages consumed on a given day.

In addition, ARS said the data are also used for a variety of studies, assessments and surveys.

According to the agency, the results of the new dietary supplement project will allow nutritionists to record more accurate dietary survey results.

"A key focus of the dietary supplement project is to verify-through laboratory analysis-the quantity of stated nutrients and other bioactive components in various dietary supplements," said nutritionist Janet Roseland, who heads that project at NDL.

Researchers at NDL, which is located at the ARS Beltsville (Maryland) Human Nutrition Research Center, team up with other groups in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to generate and update food nutrient data on a regular basis.

At the heart of programs to determine a comprehensive suite of nutrients in US foods and supplements is the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP), said ARS in this month's issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

A wide variety of food components are analyzed by commercial laboratories under contract with USDA and by cooperators at various universities. One of these is the USDA Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Using food samples collected through NFNAP, the Vitamin K Laboratory there has been analyzing the amount of vitamin K in a variety of foods and providing that data for use in NDL's compilations.

Other current projects include a database of the vitamin D content in certain foods, new and updated levels of trans fatty acids in a variety of foods, and new data on additional foods typically consumed by ethnic groups, said the agency.