Objective: To highlight the methodology used to determine nutrient per capita per day values, to report values for food energy and 12 nutrients and to compare these values with FAO nutrient per capita values and Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDIs) for Italy.
Design: The nutrient content of the Italian food supply was calculated using food per capita data from FAO and food composition data from the Italian National Nutrition Institute.
Results: All nutrient per capita values have increased since 1961 except carboyhdrate. Wheat-based products were important sources of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, iron, and potassium; and vegetables were predominant sources of vitamin A, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, and potassium. The increase in red meats has accounted for some of the increases in fat, protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, and iron. FAO reported higher values for energy, fat and niacin and lower values for protein, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, calcium in all years. The trends for vitamin A and iron were similar in both data sets; however, there were switches in which set reported higher values. The trends for niacin and calcium were not similar. When compared with the RDIs, most of the nutrients were adequate. The exceptions were iron for females ages 10-59 and calcium for adolescents.
Conclusion: Different nutrient values and sometimes trends resulted when nutrient composition data and edible portion factors specific to Italy were used to determine nutrient per capita values. The nutrient content of the Italian food supply changed between 1961 and 1992, suggesting dietary patterns in Italy also changed.