Considerations for selecting nutrient-calculation software: evaluation of the nutrient database.

With the growing number of nutrient-calculation software packages on the market, potential users are faced with the increasingly difficult task of determining which system best meets their needs. Most published reviews of nutrient-calculation software focus on program features rather than on the quality of the nutrient database on which all calculations are based. This is unfortunate because program features are of little consequence if the nutrients calculated are not of acceptable quality. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation of the nutrient database as the foremost consideration in selecting nutrient-calculation software. Six questions that may be used as a guide for evaluating a nutrient database are presented and discussed.