Interpretation of food composition data
All data refer to 100 g edible portion. Inedible fractions such as stones, kernels, bones, etc. are not taken into account. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to fresh, uncooked, unprocessed foods.
Some examples are given below for clarification purposes:
| 100 g bananas | = | 100 g peeled bananas |
| 100 g peaches | = | 100 g peaches without stones |
| 100 g cherries | = | 100 g cherries without stones and stalks |
| 100 g walnuts | = | 100 g shelled walnuts |
| 100 g chop | = | 100 g chop without bones |
| 100 g trout | = | 100 g trout without fish bones, head etc |
For most liquid foods, you can also view the nutrient content per 100ml by selecting ‘100ml’ in the ‘Select portion size’ box. The nutrient content per 100g may differ from the nutrient content per 100ml if the density of the liquid food is not 1. For example, a density >1 g/ml means that 100 ml weighs more than 100 g. In such cases, the nutrient content per 100 ml will be higher than the nutrient content per 100 g.
All data are understood to mean average values and not as absolute values, because the food composition of foods is subject to natural variations. The individual composition of a food depends on factors such as climate, degree of ripeness, season, origin, variety, feed, storage and processing conditions, etc.
For processed products such as sausages, dairy products or pastries, different recipes lead to considerable differences in the nutritional values.
The total weight of the nutrients is not always 100 g exactly. This may be due to the fact that the various data come from different analyses and/or sources. Deviations of +/- 5% are tolerated.
The Swiss Food Composition Database mentions several preparations (e.g. apple pie or risotto) and foods (e.g. breads), whose nutritional value has been calculated based on a recipe. To do this, typical current recipes were used as much as possible. When dealing with foods that are frequently bought ready to eat, such as breads, cake mixes or salad dressings, the recipes were adapted to correspond more closely to the commercially available products. Some of these foods are sometimes also offered in non-industrial versions and exhibit the term “home made”. Unless otherwise noted, recipes prepared by adding salt were calculated with non-iodised salt.