Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia methodology

The definitions used throughout this publication are not necessarily identical to those used for similar items in other collections, particularly with regards to custom classifications of food groupings.

Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) provide the recommended lower and upper bounds of proportion of energy contribution for each of the macronutrients. Percentages are consistent with the available evidence linking macronutrient balance with chronic disease risk. These are published in Australia by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in the Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. The total macronutrient ranges are:

• Carbohydrate (45–65%)
• Protein (15–25%)
• Fats (20–35%)
• Alcohol (<5%).

Further recommendations are made for:

• Saturated fats + Trans fatty acids (8-10%)
• Long chain omega-3 fatty acids (0.2%).
   

The definition for added sugars is based on the definition of ‘sugars’ in Clause 1 of Standard 2.8.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

“Sugars means –

1. hexose monosaccharides and disaccharides, including dextrose, fructose, sucrose and lactose; or
2. starch hydrolysate; or
3. glucose syrups, maltodextrin and similar products; or
4. products derived at a sugar refinery, including brown sugar and molasses; or
5. icing sugar; or
6. invert sugar; or
7. fruit sugar syrup; derived from any source,

but does not include –

8. malt or malt extracts; or
9. sorbitol, mannitol, glycerol, xylitol, polydextrose, isomalt, maltitol, maltitol syrup or lactitol.”

Maltodextrin was not reported as part of total sugars in AUSNUT 2011-13 and thus could not be considered in this analysis. Honey, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates are not included in this Standard and as such were not considered ‘added sugars’ for this definition of added sugars.

For more information see: Developing the Added Sugars and Free Sugars datasets available from https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/Pages/default.aspx.

The term 'Alcohol' in this publication refers to the molecule ethanol which is an energy providing macronutrient. Although almost 100% of dietary alcohol is consumed from alcoholic beverages, small amounts of alcohol may be found in foods such as desserts, chocolates and vanilla extract. For this reason, non-zero amounts of alcohol are possible in Table 2 and Table 3, despite alcoholic beverages not being in scope of the source data.

The 'Alcoholic beverages' food group includes beers, wines, spirits, cider and other alcoholic beverages. Data for alcoholic beverages are not currently available from scanner data due to limitations in scope. For further information, see 'Alcohol' in Explanatory Notes.

Apparent consumption in this release measures the amount of food purchased (based on sales data), but does not measure actual consumption as it does not account for food purchases from restaurants, fast foods and cafes, or foods not consumed through waste or storage. This differs from previous ABS publications of Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs which used the more common methodology based on: national production + imports - exports. See Explanatory Notes for more information on the data sources and methods used.

The Australian Food, Supplement and Nutrient Database (AUSNUT) 2011–13 refers to a set of files that enables food, dietary supplement and nutrient intake estimates to be made from the 2011–13 Australian Health Survey (AHS). It includes foods and dietary supplements consumed as part of the 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) and the 2012–13 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) components of the AHS. As AUSNUT 2011–13 was developed for the 2011–13 AHS it reflects the food supply and food preparation practices during this time period.

See also Nutrient Database in this Glossary.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NMHRC) 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines use the best available scientific evidence to provide information on the types and amounts of foods, food groups and dietary patterns that:

• Promote health and wellbeing
• Reduce the risk of diet-related conditions
• Reduce the risk of chronic disease.

The Guidelines are for use by health professionals, policy makers, educators, food manufacturers, food retailers and researchers.

The content of the Australian Dietary Guidelines applies to all healthy Australians, as well as those with common diet-related risk factors such as being overweight. They do not apply to people who need special dietary advice for a medical condition, or to the frail elderly.

The estimation of ADG food group consumption for the 2011–13 AHS required the development of a database by FSANZ which specifies the amounts of each ADG food group contained within each AUSNUT food consumed in the 2011–12 NNPAS. For more information, see Assessing the 2011–13 AHS against the Australian Dietary Guidelines - Classification System and Database Development Explanatory Notes, available from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/monitoringnutrients/Pages/default.aspx.

Guideline 2 in the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines ('enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods') advocates for Australians to follow a dietary pattern which includes a variety of choices from each of the five food groups. These comprise:

• Vegetables,
• Fruit,
• Grain (cereal) foods,
• Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans, and
• Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives.

In addition to the five food groups, Guideline 3 also recommends an allowance for a sixth food group 'unsaturated fats and oils'. By definition, the ADG food groups exclude foods which nominally have ingredients belonging to the five food groups, but are considered discretionary choices because of the presence of high levels of sodium, saturated fat or added sugar.

Table 4.1, which presents mean daily serves per capita of the Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups, provides these serve quantities in total, then by non-discretionary and then discretionary groups. However, as stated above, it is only the non-discretionary group that meets the criteria of the guidelines and therefore is the comparator for the recommended serves within the 2013 ADG.

See also 'Discretionary foods' and 'Non-discretionary foods' in this Glossary.

For information on how grams and serves of the food groups are estimated, see 'Measuring Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups' in the Explanatory Notes.

The Australian Health Survey 2011–13 is composed of three separate surveys:

• National Health Survey (NHS) 2011–12
• National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) 2011–12
• National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) 2011–12.

In addition to this, the AHS Survey contains a Core dataset, which is produced from questions that are common to both the NHS and NNPAS. For further information, see About the Australian Health Survey.

Guideline 2 of the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines provides age and sex specific recommendations of the minimum number of serves for each of the five food groups for the population across the life stages. Because the ACSF can only provide the average number of serves for the whole population for each of the five food groups, a comparison with the ADG recommendations requires the recommendations to be simplified on an equivalent basis. This may be done by creating average recommended serves that accounts for the size of the population in each age and sex group.

Using the 2019 Estimated Resident Population to 'weight' the ADG serve recommendations produces the average serves in the table below. Note however, this does not take account of the recommendations for pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The grams and serves of Basic food groups presented in Table 4.3 is from the same classification used to derive Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups and provides breakdowns of some basic contributing food groupings of the ADG food groups. They are called Basic food groups in this table to differentiate them from the ADG food groups because they represent the total amounts of all foods, regardless of the discretionary status.

Carbohydrate is a macronutrient often contributing the greatest proportion of energy in human diets. Data for total carbohydrates include starch, sugars and related substances (sugar alcohols and oligosaccharides). Sugar alcohols and oligosaccharides are included in 'Total carbohydrates' but not in starch and sugar sub-totals. Therefore, total carbohydrate does not always equal the sum of sugars and starch.

The 'Cereal-based products and dishes' food group contains biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, dumplings, pizza, sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, and pasta and rice mixed dishes.

The 'Cereals and Cereal Products' food group includes grains, flours, bread and bread rolls, plain pasta, noodles and rice, and breakfast cereals.

'Commercially sterile' refers to the process of sealing food products in airtight containers in association with thermal or chemical processing treatments as a method of food preservation. Food products such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, or a combination of these foods (e.g. soups, sauces, and fruit salad) can be stored safely in airtight sealed containers and are otherwise known as 'canned foods' or products otherwise sealed in plastic or glass. For more information, see the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

The 'Confectionery and cereal/nut/fruit/seed bars' food group includes chocolate, fruit, nut and seed bars and muesli or cereal-style bars.

The 'Dairy and meat substitutes' food group includes milk substitutes, cheese and meat substitutes, soy-based ice cream and yoghurt, and dishes where meat substitutes are the major components (e.g. tofu curry and tofu and vegetable curry).

Beverages and certain foods such sauces and oils which are typically sold by volume (mL) are converted to grams by applying a density (the amount of mass per volume). This conversion is necessary to have quantities in the same units and for calculating nutrient amounts from AUSNUT (where nutrients are in amounts per 100 grams).

Dietary fibre is generally found in edible plants or their extracts but can also come from synthetic analogues. It refers to the fractions of the plant or analogue that are resistant to digestion and absorption, which usually undergo fermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fibre plays a beneficial role in laxation, blood cholesterol levels, and blood glucose modulation. It comes in the form of polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and lignins.

Guideline 3 of the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) is to "limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol". The Guidelines further describes discretionary foods as: "foods and drinks not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs, but that may add variety. However, many of these are high in saturated fats, sugars, salt and / or alcohol, and are therefore described as energy dense. They can be included sometimes in small amounts by those who are physically active, but are not a necessary part of the diet."

The Guidelines list examples of discretionary choices as including: "most sweet biscuits, cakes; desserts and pastries: processed meats and sausages; ice-cream and other ice confections; confectionary and chocolate; savoury pastries and pies; commercial burgers; commercially fried foods; potato chips, crisps and other fatty and/or salty snack foods; cream, butter and spreads which are high in saturated fats; sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials, sports and energy drinks, and alcoholic drinks". Based on these definitions and the supporting documents which underpin the Guidelines, relevant AUSNUT 2011-13 foods have been classified as either discretionary or non-discretionary. For more information, see the Discretionary Foods chapter of the Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011–13.

The 'Egg products and dishes' food group includes eggs and dishes where eggs are the major component e.g. omelettes, frittatas and souffles.

Energy, measured in kilojoules (kJ), is required by the body for metabolic processes, physiological functions, growth and development, and cognitive functions. The energy reported in this publication refers to the dietary energy provided by carbohydrate, fat, protein, and alcohol. Small amounts of additional energy are from dietary fibre and organic acids.

Estimated resident population (ERP), is Australia's official measure of the population of Australia and is based on the concept of usual residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality, citizenship or legal status, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. It includes usual residents who are overseas for fewer than 12 months. It excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for fewer than 12 months. Refer to Australian Demographic Statistics. (cat. no. 3101.0).

Fat provides a significant amount of dietary energy and is also a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins and the source of essential fatty acids. It is the most energy dense of the macronutrients. The three fatty acid subtotals do not sum to the total fat because total fat includes a contribution from non-fatty acid components.

The 'Fats and oils' food group includes butters, dairy blends, margarines and other fats, such as animal-based fats.

The 'Fish and seafood products and dishes' food group includes fresh and tinned seafood, shellfish and mixed dishes with fish or seafood as the main component e.g. salmon mornay, fish curry and prawn cocktail.

See 'Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups' in this Glossary.

Fortification refers to adding vitamins and minerals to food. When there is determined to be a significant public health need, food manufacturers may be required to add certain vitamins or minerals to specified foods (mandatory fortification). In Australia, mandatory fortification of foods includes requirements for salt used in bread to be iodised, thiamin and folic acid to be added to wheat flour for making bread, and vitamin D added to edible oil spreads such as margarine. See Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Vitamins and minerals added to food.

Food and beverage products provided by scanner data have been categorised for output purposes within a food classification with Major (2-digit), Sub-major (3-digit), and Minor (5-digit) group levels. The classification was developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), along with the Nutrient Database, specifically for the Australian Health Survey 2011-13. At the broadest level (i.e. the Major group) there are 24 groups. These groups were designed to categorise foods that share a major component or common feature. Because many foods are in fact mixtures of different ingredients, the food groups will not always exclusively contain the main food of that group. See also AUSNUT 2011-13 and Nutrient Database in this Glossary.

For this publication, the output tables present these food products in a combination of AUSNUT classification and custom groupings against the Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups. Additional custom groups include the sweetened beverages. All food groups and their relevant inclusions have been specified in this Glossary.

Free sugars, as defined by the WHO, refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. For more information see WHO/FAO (2003) Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of the joint WHO/FAO expert consultation.

For information on the process for calculating free sugars for AUSNUT foods see Developing the Added Sugars and Free Sugars datasets available from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

The 'Fruit products and dishes' food group includes fresh, dried and preserved fruit, as well as mixed dishes where fruit is the major component, for example apple crumble or banana split.

The 'Infant formulae and foods' food group includes infant formulae, and infant cereal, food and drink products.

Intense-sweeteners are commonly called 'artificial sweeteners'. The may serve as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages as a way to sweeten a product while maintaining a lower kilojoule or carbohydrate level.

Intense-sweetened beverages include cordials, soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters, and electrolyte and energy drinks that use sweetener in place of added sugar. See 'Selected non-alcoholic beverages' in this Glossary for a full breakdown of inclusions in the 'Intense-sweetened beverages' group.

Intrinsic sugars are defined by the WHO as the sugars incorporated in the structure of intact fruit and vegetables. In this analysis, intrinsic sugars plus milk sugars are estimated from total sugars minus free sugars. See WHO Guideline.

Life stages refers to periods throughout childhood, adolescence, and phases of adulthood (including pregnancy and breast feeding) where food and nutrient requirements may vary due to the changing physiological demands. In the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG), they are used to set the minimum recommended numbers of serves of the five food groups specified in Guideline 2 ("enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day and drink plenty of water"). In the ADG they are defined by the following groups:

See Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups in this Glossary for more information on the five food groups, and the Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary for specific recommendations of the five food groups across the life stages.

The 'Legume and pulse products and dishes' food group includes legumes and pulses e.g. baked beans, chickpeas, split peas, lentils and dishes where legumes are the major component, for example dhal and falafel.

Margin of Error (MoE) describes the distance from the population value that the sample estimate is likely to be within, and is specified at a given level of confidence. Confidence levels typically used are 90%, 95% and 99%. For example, at the 95% confidence level the MoE indicates that there are about 19 chances in 20 that the estimate will differ by less than the specified MoE from the population value (the figure obtained if the entire population had been enumerated). In this publication, MoE has been provided at the 95% confidence level for proportions of persons and usual daily proportions of energy from macronutrients. For more information see the Technical Note of this publication.

The mean is the sum of the value of each observation in a dataset divided by the number of observations. This is also known as the arithmetic average. In this release, the means presented are mean daily per capita amounts which are calculated from the sum of the annual total divided by the Estimated Resident Population and also divided by number of days in a year (365).

The 'Meat, poultry and game products and dishes' food group includes beef, sheep, pork, poultry, sausages, processed meat (e.g. salami) and mixed dishes where meat or poultry is the major component e.g. casseroles, curried sausages and chicken stir-fry.

The 'Milk products and dishes' food group includes milk, yoghurt, cream, cheese, custards, ice cream, milk shakes, smoothies and dishes where milk is the major component e.g. cheesecake, rice pudding and creme brulee.

The 'Miscellaneous' food group includes yeast, and spreadable yeast extract, intense sweeteners, herbs, spices and seasonings.

The National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey focused on collecting information on:

• Dietary behaviour and food avoidance (including 24-hour dietary recall)
• Selected medical conditions that had lasted, or were expected to last, for six months or more, such as;
  • Cardiovascular and circulatory conditions
  • Diabetes and high sugar levels
  • Kidney disease
  • Blood pressure
• Female life stages
• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour (including eight-day pedometer component)
• Use of tobacco
• Physical measurements (height, weight and waist circumference).
   

The 'Non-alcoholic beverages' food group includes tea, coffee, juices, cordials, soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, water, and beverage flavourings (typically powders added to milk).

The 'Non-discretionary foods' group comprises of those foods identified in the Australian Dietary Guidelines five food groups. See also 'Australian Dietary Guidelines food groups' in this Glossary.

Nutrients are the chemical compounds sourced from the diet that are required to provide energy, structural materials, and biochemical cofactors to support the growth, maintenance, and repair of body tissues.

Nutrient data used in this publication is based on the AUSNUT 2011–13 food nutrient database developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand for the 2011-13 AHS.

The Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand are the evidence based recommendations for the amounts of nutrients required from the diet to ensure nutritional adequacy and avoid potential toxicity from excessive intakes. The NRVs come in several forms:

• Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) - the amount considered adequate to meet the needs of 50% of the population
• Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) - an amount designed to meet the requirements of 98% of the population
• Upper Level (UL) - the maximum amount recommended where intakes higher than the UL are associated with increased health risk
• Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges - (AMDR) provide the recommended lower and upper bounds of proportion of energy contribution for each of the macronutrients, consistent with the available evidence linking macronutrient balance with chronic disease risk
• Suggested Dietary Targets (SDT) - a population average intake that may help in the prevention of chronic disease
• Adequate intake (AI) - the amount determined to be adequate based on average intakes in observed populations without adverse signs. AIs are used where the RDI cannot be determined.
   

The 'Other non-alcoholic beverages' group includes beverages that do not have added sugar or artificial sweeteners (e.g. fruit and vegetable juices, water) as well as intense sweetened beverages. See 'Selected non-alcoholic beverages' in this Glossary for details.

Per capita amounts are derived by dividing the total amount of a food or nutrient by the Estimated Resident Population (ERP). In this publication, per capita estimates are derived by dividing the annual total by the ERP and also divided 365 days, except in the case of monthly estimates where the monthly total is divided by the ERP and the number of days in that calendar month. Data representing the 2018-19 period uses the ERP for December 2018. The ERP is published in the quarterly publication Australian Demographic Statistics and ABS projections. For more information on population estimates, see Australian Demographic Statistics.

Macronutrient energy (and proportion of total energy from macronutrients) are derived by multiplying each macronutrient by the kilojoules per gram conversion factors. This publication uses the same conversion factors used in the 2011–13 AHS. For more information, see the Nutrient Intake chapter of the AHS: Users' Guide, 2011–13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).

Protein supplies essential amino acids and is also a source of energy. Protein can be supplied from animal or vegetable sources, though individual vegetables do not contain all the essential amino acids required by the body. A combination of vegetables should be consumed to provide all the essential amino acids.

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends levels of daily fruit intake to ensure good nutrition and health. Fruit intake has been grouped in the table below to allow results to be reported against the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. A serve is approximately 150 grams of fresh fruit, half a cup of fruit juice (no added sugar) or 30 grams of dried fruit.*

The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends levels of daily vegetable intake to ensure good nutrition and health. Vegetable intake has been grouped in the table below to allow results to be reported against the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. A serve is approximately half a cup of cooked vegetables or legumes/beans or one cup of salad vegetables - equivalent to around 75 grams.*

The relative standard error is the standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate. For more information see Technical Note in this publication.

Saturated fat or saturated fatty acids are a type of fat predominantly found in animal-based foods, although there are exceptions. Reported saturated fat is the total of all saturated fatty acids, that is, all fatty acids without any double bonds.

The 'Savoury sauces and condiments' food group includes gravies and sauces, pickles, chutneys and relishes, salad dressings, stuffings, and dips.

The 'Seed and nut products and dishes' food group includes seeds and seed products, nuts, and nut products.

This publication makes use of customised groupings to define relevant categories of non-alcoholic beverages including 'Sugar-sweetened beverages', 'Intense-sweetened beverages'. These categories are defined by regrouping selected AUSNUT codes and are provided in the table below. The sub-total 'Total other non-alcoholic beverages' is derived as the balance of 'Total non-alcoholic beverages' minus 'Sugar sweetened beverages', so includes waters, fruit and vegetable juices as well as 'Intense-sweetened beverages'.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) recommends Australians consume a minimum number serves per day of particular foods within the five food groups. The gram or millilitre amount that makes up a serve varies depending on the food. For examples of serve sizes, refer to Guideline 2 within the Eat for Health Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary.

Because many processed foods are multi-ingredient foods (and may contain a mix of vegetables, cereal, fruit, meat or dairy foods), it was necessary to create a database specifying the amounts of each of the five food groups for each of the approximately 5,700 unique foods in AUSNUT 2011-13. Development of the ADG database was undertaken by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) who designed the protocol and classification for assigning proportions foods to food groups. This database complements the underlying nutrient database and may be accessed along with the detailed explanatory notes from the FSANZ website. 

The 'Snack foods' food group includes potato chips, popcorn, corn chips, cheese and bacon balls, and pretzels.

Sodium is a mineral which occurs in a number of different forms but is generally consumed as sodium chloride (commonly known as 'salt'). It is naturally occurring in many foods, but the major dietary sources are from the addition of sodium in food processing.

The 'Soup' food group includes dry and canned soups, as well as soups purchased ready-to-eat.

The 'Special dietary foods' food group includes formula dietary foods (e.g. protein powders, meal replacement shakes and meal replacement bars).

The 'Sugar-sweetened beverages' group includes cordials, soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters, energy and electrolyte drinks, fortified waters, and fruit and vegetable drinks that contain added sugar (typically sucrose). This group excludes fruit and vegetable juices, which have been captured in the 'other non-alcoholic beverages' food group. See 'Non-alcoholic beverages' in this Glossary for a full breakdown of inclusions in the 'Sugar-sweetened beverages' group.

The 'Sugar products and dishes' food group includes sugar, honey, syrups, jam, chocolate spreads / sauces, as well as dishes and products other than confectionary where sugar is the major component (e.g. pavlova and meringue).

Sweetened beverages refer to cordials, soft drinks and flavoured mineral waters, electrolytes, energy drinks, fortified waters, and fruit and vegetable drinks that either contain added sugar or have been artificially sweetened. See 'Selected beverages' in this Glossary for a full breakdown of inclusions in the 'Sugar-sweetened beverages' and 'Intense-sweetened beverages' groups.

The Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand include the Suggested Dietary Target (SDT) for some nutrients where there is reasonable evidence that intakes higher than the EAR, RDI or AI may provide some chronic disease protection.

Total fat includes the fatty acids reported on in this release as well as some fats not separately reported on, such as non-fatty acid components of triglycerides, phospholipids, sterols and waxes.

Total sugars are the sum of fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose and galactose.

The 'Vegetable products and dishes' food group includes vegetables and dishes where vegetables are the major component, for example salad or vegetable casserole.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

The Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19 (cat. no. 4316.0) is designed to provide trend information on foodstuffs purchased through food retail outlets. This publication is the first in this series, with a second publication scheduled for December 2020 to provide data for the 2019–20 financial year.

Over time, the data will provide insights to the changing nature in the food supply and food consumption preferences. Although these estimates cannot tell us about the patterns of particular population groups (e.g. by age and sex) it will facilitate the ongoing monitoring of food consumption, which has been a key data gap between the infrequent (yet more detailed) national nutrition surveys (1995 NNS, 2011–12 NNPAS).

The data are expected to facilitate analyses of a range of issues including monitoring dietary risk factors such as particular discretionary foods or foods regarded as providing health benefits. It will also provide broad estimates of nutrients available from consumed foods and the proportion of energy being derived from macronutrients such as fat (including type of fats), carbohydrate (including added sugars) and protein. While alcohol (ethanol) is also a macronutrient supplying energy, alcohol beverage consumption is out of scope in these estimates as it is not available in the scanner data provided to the ABS.

The Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19 (cat. no. 4316.0) was compiled using ABS and non-ABS data sources (see Explanatory Notes) from varying reference periods based on availability and quality. The baseline year of the imputation (adjustment) to account for non-major supermarkets is 2015–16 (financial year).

Data for the Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19 (cat. no. 4316.0) were obtained mainly from industry, with additional data sourced from other ABS collections. Industry data (scanner data), while considered comprehensive, have varying degrees of detail for foods which can impact on coding accuracy. A coding weighting adjustment has been applied to adjust for the food items (value and quantity) that were unable to be coded. The indirectly estimated measures used to quantify the food and beverages available for consumption that are not captured by the major retailers in the SD are based on household expenditure data. These estimates are are subject to sampling error. Both adjustments used to complement the SD data are subject to assumptions and have known limitations. For more information please see Explanatory Notes.

As this publication is the first in a new series from a novel data source, there may be future improvements to the methodology and revisions of coding to improve data accuracy. To ensure the time-series maintains comparability, such changes may result in revisions of estimates from this release and any updates will be flagged in future releases.

Foods and non-alcoholic beverages in the Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19 (cat. no. 4316.0) are defined primarily using the 2011–13 AUSNUT database which was developed for the 2011–13 Australian Health Survey. In addition to providing an established food classification, AUSNUT contains comprehensive nutrient data for each food and links to other established metadata including information about the amounts of Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) Five Food Groups within any food. This alignment means that conceptually the data can be used for similar food and nutrient analyses as a national nutrition survey. There are however important differences which should be considered due to the differing nature of foods as purchased (scanner data ) and food as eaten (nutrition surveys). This conceptual difference in addition to the narrower scope of the collection (i.e. excluding foods from restaurants, cafes and takeaway sources and the exclusion of alcoholic beverages) means caution should be used in making comparisons to results from the 2011–13 Australian Health Survey.

The Main Findings section provides extensive analysis and commentary. This section uses commentary and graphs to guide reader understanding and interpretation of the detailed data tables. The Explanatory Notes provide further guidance on the data used; along with links to supporting information and publication in addition to the concepts, methodologies and data sources.

The data contained in this publication does not comprise the full detail of data available for the Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia, 2018–19. For instance, the lowest level of the classification may be regrouped to provide estimates of particular food groupings. However, given the potential commercial value of this data (supplied by industry), ABS has committed to only release publicly accessible data from this collection. Therefore it would not be possible to provide any further information beyond what is presented in the publication. There will however be scope for focussed analyses on selected food groups based on public health nutrition priorities, and these will be published as additional information to this publication. Tables contained in this publication are available in spreadsheet format in the Data downloads section. For more detail on the publication please contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.