1960s
The
earliest known effort to compile food composition data in
South Africa was carried out by Dr Fox in the 1960's.
(Fox FW. 1966. Studies on the Chemical Composition of Foods
Commonly Used In Southern Africa. Johannesburg: South African
Institute for Medical Research.)
1970s
In
the 1970’s the internal research needs of the Nutritional
Intervention Research Unit (NIRU) at the Medical Research
Council led to a breakthrough in food composition activities.
At first, a simple handwritten chart served as the food composition
data source used to assess dietary intakes of South Africans
1980s
In
1981, in response to the demand of the nutrition and research
community in South Africa, the dietitians at the MRCs NIRU
published the first food composition tables. These tables
were updated in 1986 and 1991. A separate Fatty acid
& Amino acid tables, and a Food Quantities Manual ( weight
of household portions) was also published.
1990s
The
1991 MRC Food Composition Table edition, which covers 1370
foods and 35 nutrients. It serves as the main reference source
for nutrition professionals and the food industry in South
Africa. It is also the standard book used by nutrition
and dietetic training institutes.
1998 marked the publication of the Vegetable and Fruits
group update.
2000
At
the beginning of the year, the Milk & milk products, Eggs
and Meat and meat products update, with South African analysed
data on egg, beef, chiken, ostrich, veal, cheese, yoghurt,
milk and milk products was published by the MRC. This
update contains information on 274 foods and 93 nutrients.
