Generating fatty acid and vitamin D composition data of Indonesian foods

Abstract The Indonesian food composition table lacks data on individual fatty acids; data on vitamin D is incomplete. The primary aim of this study was to generate data on individual fatty acid content of Indonesian foods. Secondary objective was to analyze vitamin D content. Based on intake data of 4–12 year old children from a nationally representative Indonesian survey, 120 foods contributing 95% to children’s total polyunsaturated fatty acid intake were selected for chemical analysis of fat and fatty acid content. Vitamin D3 was analyzed in a subset of 60 foods. Food samples were collected throughout Indonesia; per food one representative composite sample was chemically analyzed. Of the analyzed foods, sardines (0.97 g/100 g), tempeh (0.62 g/100 g) and tofu (0.56 g/100 g) had the highest n-3 fatty acids content, peanuts (15.9 g/100 g) and palm oil (11.4 g/100 g) were richest in n-6 fatty acids. Vitamin D3 content in foods was limited. This paper significantly contributes to the current knowledge on the fatty acid and vitamin D content of a broad range of commonly consumed Indonesian foods, which can be used in future research to monitor dietary intake and guide policy makers and the food industry to steer nutrient intake in the Indonesian population.