INTRODUCTION TO

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

Nur Aini Mahmudah S.TP., M.Sc.

What is Nutrients?

Nutrients – Chemicals found

in foods that are critical to
human growth and function.

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 • Six groups of nutrients found in the foods we eat are:
Nutrients 1. Carbohydrate 4. Vitamins
that
provide 2. Fats & oils 5. Minerals
energy 3. Proteins 6. Water
 NUTRIENTS

Carbohydrate  Primary source of energy for body.

 Composed of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen

Fats & Oils  Important source of energy at rest during

low-intensity exercise.
 Composed of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen.
 Food containing fats also provide fat-soluble
vitamins & essential fatty acids.

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Nutrients
Proteins  Support tissue growth, repair &
maintenance.
 Composed of carbon, hydrogen oxygen &
nitrogen.

Water  Inorganic nutrient that support all body

functions.
 For regulating nervous impulses, muscle
contractions, nutrient transport, excretion
of waste products.

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MACRO NUTRIENT
VS
MICRO NUTRIENT
Micronutrients
• needed in relatively small amounts to support normal
health and body functions  contains no energy.
• Vitamins & Minerals
Type Distinguishing features
Fat soluble:  Soluble in fat
 A, D, E, K  Stored in the human body
 Toxicity can occur from consuming excess
amounts, which accumulate in the body.

Water soluble:  Soluble in water

 C, B (thiamin,  Not stored to any extent in the human body
riboflamin, niacin, B6,  Excess excreted in urine
B12, pantothenic acid,  Toxicity generally only occurs as a result of
biotin & folate) vitamin supplementation

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Minerals
Type Distinguishing features
Major minerals:
 Calcium, phosphorus,  Needed in amounts >100mg/day in our diets
sodium, potassium,  Amount present in the human body is > 5g
chloride, magnesium, (or 5,000 mg).
sulfur.

Trace minerals:
 Iron, zinc, copper,  Needed in amounts <100mg/day in our diets
manganese, fluoride,  Amount present in the human body is < 5g
chromium, (or 5,000 mg).
molybdenum, selenium,
iodine

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 Importance of Food-Nutrient
Analysis
The nutritive quality of foods is an important
aspect in evaluating foods.

• Growing knowledge  demands have been made by

consumers for nutrient details to be included on labels of
marketed food products.
• Any nutritional claims made on the label need to be
substantiated by data on nutrient content.

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 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR ANALYSIS

• The Association of Official Analytical Chemists

(AOAC):
• Developed standard specifications for food
commodities and manufactured products
• Methods for evaluating food samples to enable
comparison with such standards.
These methods, now accepted as official or
standard, may be categorized as physical
instrumental, chemical, nutritional,
microbiological and sensory analytical methods.

ERT 426 Food Engineering

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STAGES OF ANALYSIS
• In general, stages that may be required in the analysis of
foods are:
1. Setting the protocol.
2. Sampling the food.
3. Preparing the sample in readiness for analysis, including
standardisation.
4. Analyse the sample.
5. Identification and/or quantification of the sample.
6. Recording the information.

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