The Update of the Italian Food Composition Database of Gluten-Free Products and Its Application in Food-Based Dietary Guidelines Menus

Abstract

Complete food composition databases (FCDBs) on gluten-free (GF) foods are needed to assess the nutrient intakes of celiac disease patients. The aim of the present work was to update the previously developed version of the Italian GF-FCDB and to apply it to a theoretical GF diet. The updated GF-FCDB includes the composition of 108 GF cereal-based foods, as sold, in terms of energy and macro- and micro-nutrients, imputed using food label information combined with the standard recipe approach. Three scenarios (i.e., refined, mixed, and wholegrain cereals) of the weekly guideline menu for the general Italian population were analyzed for energy and nutrient content in a theoretical dietary assessment using traditional gluten-containing (GC) foods and the corresponding GF substitutes. All GF menus were higher than the corresponding GC menus in polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid, and vitamin E. Zinc was lower in GF than in GC menus only in the wholegrain-cereal scenario. Thanks to the application of the updated GF-FCDB including a comprehensive list of micronutrients, we observed that it is possible for celiac disease patients to meet nutrient requirements by simply substituting GC with GF cereal-based products following recommendations for the general population.

Application of legumes in the formulation of gluten-free foods: functional, nutritional and nutraceutical importance

“…Gluten is a protein complex found in cereals, including wheat, rye, spelt, and barley, as well as their hybridized strains (Fiori et al, 2022). In addition to these well-documented gluten-containing cereals, the Codex Alimentarius described oats as a gluten-containing cereal (Rai et al, 2018;Irondi et al, 2023a), but some reports classified them as a gluten-free cereal (El Khoury et al, 2018;Spector Cohen et al, 2019;Fajardo et al, 2020).…”

“…Such a formulation should be able to substitute glutencontaining foods. Some GFFs are pasta, bread, cake, and biscuits (Fiori et al, 2022). The formulation of a high-quality GFF is a challenge to the food industry because of the lack of gluten, which gives viscoelastic properties to the dough (Mir et al, 2016).…”