According to the December 2009 issue of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, the Agricultural Research Service,
a research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recently updated its nutrient database. The database is the standard reference used to calculate the nutrition values of specific foods.

The update, called SR22, was revised to reflect the latest scientific findings on a host of vitamins, such as vitamin D, minerals and fats. The new database added more than 200 new entries and for the first time includes restaurant foods. You can access the new database free online at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search.