A new, consolidated analytics platform, Nutritics, will give food and healthcare industries direct access to FoodTrack, CSIRO says.
FoodTrack was developed in 2014 by CSIRO and the Heart Foundation to provide a thorough food, labelling and nutrient information database, which can develop customised insights and identify market trends, the national science agency said.
The database is updated annually with nutrition data on nearly 45,000 food and beverage products. It captures around 90 per cent of all fresh and packaged foods sold in the four major supermarket chains – Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths.
But up until now the information has not been available on one cohesive analytics platform.
CSIRO said the new system, Nutritics, means food producers and public health agencies can conduct custom analytics using FoodTrack data to identify new opportunities or gaps in the market, as well as track changes in the nutritional composition of the food supply to inform research and guide public health nutrition strategies.
“Current and detailed information on the composition of Australia’s food supply is essential to support accurate assessment of dietary intake – both at individual and population levels,” it said.
FoodTrack via Nutritics is available through an online subscription-based service.
Nutritics COO Stephen Nolan said: “Feedback from our Australian customers highlights that information is crucial to improving efficiencies in the food product development process and the implementation of healthy eating strategies for clients.”
CSIRO researcher and dietitian, Xenia Cleanthous, said having access to audited and recent nutritional information at your fingertips has the potential to revolutionise Australia’s $122.2 billion food, beverage and grocery manufacturing sector.
Cleanthous said: “As more Australians seek healthier food options, having access to the latest information available will allow stakeholders to better understand what’s currently on our supermarket shelves – that includes both manufacturers and retailers, as well as government, public health organisations, researchers and NGOs.”
The Heart Foundation’s general manager Heart Health and Research, Bill Stavreski said with a 29 per cent increase in obesity levels over the last decade, having access to the latest information on Australia’s food supply is important to support public health strategies.
“Broad access to up-to-date data and analytics on Australia’s food supply will help public health bodies and researchers target their strategies and resources on ‘best buy’ measures to help improve health outcomes,” he said.
Nolan said: “Our mission is to empower the world to make better food choices, by making food and recipe information more accessible and valuable using innovative technology.”
