Nutritional equivalence

Some countries, such as Germany, have laws that restrict imitation dairy products. Products that simulate milk and other dairy food of recognized nutritional value generally are required to be nutritionally equivalent to the dairy products that they imitate. In the United States, where legal standards exist for many substitute dairy products, the laws are less restrictive. 

The legal status of dairy substitutes varies widely among countries. In the United States, the FDA has held that filled products should be nutritionally equivalent to the products they resemble. In the case of imitation milks, the FDA proposed regulations for nutritional equivalency (31). A section of the Food, Dmg and Cosmetic Act defines misbranded foods, and the FDA has set up standards of identity for foods under this part of the law (32) which includes standards for imitation milks, cheese, and creams (32). 

Nfthr-. nutritive, nutrient, alimentary, -agar, m. nutrient agar, -aquivalent, n. nutritive equivalent or value, -biatt, n. (Bot.) storage leaf, -boden, m. nutrient medium, nutrient substrate, culture medium, -bouillon, -briUie,/. nutrient broth, nahren, v.t. feed nourish support. — nah-rend, p.a. nourishing, nutritive, nutritious, nutrient. 

Not all proteins are nutritionally equivalent. Mote of some than of others is needed to maintain nittogen balance because different proteins contain different amounts of the various amino acids. The body s requirement is for specific amino acids in the correct proportions to replace the body proteins. The amino acids can be divided into two groups essential and nonessential. There are nine essential or indispensable amino acids, which cannot be synthesized in the body histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. If one of these is lacking or inadequate, then—regardless of the total intake of protein—it will not be possible to maintain nitrogen balance since there will not be enough of that amino acid for protein synthesis. 

White and brown flour in the UK have to be fortified with calcium, iron, thiamine (vitamin Bl), and niacin (vitamin B3 also known as nicotinic acid) as follows flour should contain not less than 235 mg per 100 g and not more than 390 mg per 100 g calcium carbonate, iron not less than 1.65 mg, thiamine (vitamin Bl) not less than 0.24 mg, and nicotinic acid not less than 1.6 mg or nicotinamide (which is nutritionally equivalent to nicotinic acid) not less than 1.60 mg. 

Acording to the FDA (1982A), an imitation food is a product that substitutes for and resembles a traditional food but is nutritionally inferior to that food. That is, the term imitation denotes nutritional inferiority. On the other hand, FDA has determined that if a food substitutes for and resembles another food but is not nutritionally inferior to that food, it need not be called an imitation. Rather, by FDA definition, such a substitute food may be called nutritionally equivalent. This term implies that the nutrients in the substitute food are identical in quantity, biological activity, and bioavailability to those found in the traditional food. However, examination of FDA s nutrient profile for nutritional equivalency and consideration of the differences in the biological activity and bioavailability of nutrients, as well as the possibility that traditional foods may contain beneficial factors, reveal seri-... 

In defining the nutritional equivalence of dairy foods, FDA considered only 11 to 15 nutrients for milk substitutes, 1 nutrient for cream substitutes, and 4 to 9 nutrients for cheese substitutes (FDA 1978). Yet, data from the Consumer and Food Economics Institute, USDA (1976), reveal that traditional milk, cream, and cheese contain an array of nutrients including protein, fat, carbohydrate, and at least 15 minerals and vitamins and 18 amino acids. Thus, under FDA s proposal (FDA 1978), which has been withdrawn (FDA 1983) but, as mentioned above, may in effect be applied, a substitute dairy product could be declared nutritionally equivalent to its traditional counterpart and yet (1) not contain all of the nutrients in the traditional food, or (2) contain some or all of these other nutrients but in lesser quantities, or (3) contain some of the nutrients such as sodium in excessive amounts, or (4) contain more or less energy (NDC 1983C). 

Substitute milk products may not be equivalent to cow s milk in terms of the quantity and in some cases the quality of fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals. Fat, carbohydrate, sodium, fiber, and energy, as well as the nutrients for which no U.S. RDA has been established, were not considered by FDA in its proposed definition of nutritional equivalency. In terms of quality, coconut oil, the primary and in most instances the sole fat used in substitute as well as imitation milk products, is a more saturated fat than milk fat and lacks linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid. Thus, a substitute dairy product formulated with hydrogenated coconut oil and sucrose and containing more so-... 

Kotula, K. T., Nikazy, J. N., McGinnis, M. and Briggs, G. M. 1983. Development of a rat model to test the nutritional equivalency of traditional vs. fabricated foods Cheddar cheese vs. fabricated Cheddar cheese. J. Food Sci. 48, 1674-1677, 1704. 

Lowe, C. M., Kotula, K. T. and Briggs, G. M. 1983. Nutrition studies of real nonfat and fabricated dry milks with respect to the Food and Drug Administration s 1978 proposal for the nutritional equivalence (NE) of low-fat milk substitutes in rats. J. Dairy Sci. (Suppl. 1) 66, 90. 

Fruits and Vegetables Most Common Pesticides Found Nutrient Substitution (approximate NUTRITIONAL EQUIVALENT)... 

Current foods derived from modem biotechnology are nutritionally equivalent to their conventional counterparts. 

Nicotinic acid (melting point 236°C, density 1.473) and nicotinamide (melting point 129°C, density 1.400) are known as niacin and niacinamide in the food industry. Niacin is the most stable of all vitamins and is essential to humans and animals for growth and health. Niacin and niacinamide are nutritionally equivalent, and compete with one another. 

Protein Hydrolysate. Protein hydroly.sate is a solution of amino acids and short-chain oligopeptides that represeni the approximate nutritive equivalent of the ca.sein. lactaibu min. plasma, fibrin, or other. suitable protein from which il is derived by acid, enzymatic, or other hydrolytie method It may be modified by partial removal, and restoration or addition of one or more amino acids. It may contain dextrou or another carbohydrate suitable for intravenous infusion Not less than 50% of the total nitrogen present Ls in the form of o-amino nitrogen. It is a yellowish to rcd-ambet tran.sparent liquid with a pH of 4 to 7. 

When bread companies started adding nicotinic acid to their bread, they insisted that its name be changed to niacin because they thought that nicotinic acid sounded too much like nicotine and they did not want their vitamin-enriched bread to be associated with a harmful substance. Niacinamide is a nutritionally equivalent form of the vitamin. 

Statistical analysis of the data suggests significant changes in cecum, liver, and kidney weights between browned and nutritionally equivalent control diets in the 12-mo rats (Table IX). Serum GOT, alkaline phosphatase, and serum glucose levels are all significantly different for these twoadverse effects become more and more pronounced. This pattern indicates that there is a cumulative effect and that it resembles, in many instances, the effect expected of a toxic compound. 

Pyridexiae, Pyridaxal and Pyridoxamine (V.B complex adermine) are nutritionally equivalent. 

Infant formulas or other products modified for reasons other than to provide a novel functional or clinical benefit, or which are based on products already on the market, should, at least, be subjected to studies of acceptability, and of nutritional equivalence to the existing products. 

Imitation foods or analogs—High prices for such staple foods as fruit juices, milk, ice cream, butter, meats, and poultry, along with the concern over the cholesterol and fat content of certain of these foods, have stimulated the development of imitation products or analogs. These products are made from lower-cost materials, like soybean derivatives, and they are usually fortified with minerals, vitamins, and amino acids so eis to be nutritionally equivalent to the items which they are designed to replace in the diet... 

Infant formulas—The manufacturers of these products have usually designed them to be nutritionally equivalent to human breast milk, perhaps with the following notable... 

Limitations Of Enrichment and Fortification. In theory, it should be possible to add pure forms of the nutrients present in minimally processed foods to highly processed foods in order to obtain nutritional equivalency. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifies enrichment and fortification levels for only some of the nutrients known to be essential. There are no specified levels for other essential nutrients such as chromium, selenium, and vitamin K. It might even be illegal to add the purified forms of these nutrients to foods. 

Smith, B., J. McNaughton, and M. Hinds. 2003. Nutritional Equivalency Study of Maize Containing Cry34Abl and Cry35Abl Poultry Feeding Study. Project Number 2001/OPT/48/BB, PHI/2001/043. Unpublished study prepared by Woodson-Tenent Lab., Inc., Exygen Research and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. 33 p. 

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