VITAMIN MINERAL DATA BANK

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH AN ACCURATE VITAMIN AND MINERAL DATA BASE THAT CAN BE EASILY UPDATED AND SERVE AS THE COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE FOR MONITORING THE SUPPLEMENTAL VITAMIN AND/OR MINERAL CONSUMPTION OF INDIVIDUALS. IT ADDRESSES THE NEED TO IMPROVE METHODS FOR ASSESSING NUTRIENT INTAKE. EARLIER STUDIES SUGGEST THAT SUPPLEMENTATION CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE NUTRIENT INTAKE OF ABOUT 1/3 OF THE POPULATION. THE PROJECT CAPITALIZES ON THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODE (UPC) MARKING WHICH APPEARS ON PRACTICALLY ALL COMMON VITAMIN/MINERAL PREPARATIONS AS WELL AS OTHER MORE EXOTIC DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS SUCH AS BONE MEAL, KELP, ETC. BUILDING ON THE DATA BASE DEVELOPED EARLIER IN A PILOT STUDY, THE FIRST STEP IN THIS PROPOSED EFFORT IS TO UPDATE AND COMPLETE THE IDENTIFICATION OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS WITH A UPC. NUTRIENT INFORMATION FOR EACH ITEM WOULD ALSO BE CONVERTED THROUGH USE OF THE COMPUTER SO THAT DIETARY INTAKE INFORMATION WOULD BE EXPRESSED ON THE SAME BASIS REGARDLESS OF THE MANUFACTURER'S LABELING INFORMATION. THE PHASE II FOLLOW-ON WOULD TEST THE UTILITY OF THE DATA BANK THROUGH A SURVEY OF THE USE OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS USING A NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE AND/OR A TARGETED RESPONDENT SAMPLE SUCH AS PARTICIPANTS IN CHEMOPREVENTION TRIALS. THE COMMERCIALIZATION PHASE (PHASE III) WILL INVOLVE MARKETING THE USE OF THE DATA BASE.