A new, enhanced and more representative version of the Ciqual table

The Ciqual table, which is the reference resource on the nutritional composition of foods in France, has just been updated. Laure Du Chaffaut and Marine Oseredczuk, who are in charge of the Ciqual table at ANSES, tell us about the main new features and take us behind the scenes of this major update.

Can you briefly remind us what is the Ciqual table.

Laure Du Chaffaut: The Ciqual table provides information on the nutritional composition of several thousand foods – 3484 to be precise – making it one of the most comprehensive in Europe. It covers the most widely consumed raw and processed foods in France. It gives you, for example, the average composition of a fruit yoghurt, a tomato or a portion of chips.

Managed by ANSES, the Ciqual table is an open access tool consulted daily by many users, including:

dieticians and nutritionists, to devise tailored diets, for example, to guide people suffering from anaemia towards foods rich in iron;
food manufacturers, to develop nutrition labelling for their products;
individuals with deficiencies or having to follow specific diets.

What is meant by the "nutritional composition of foods"?

Marine Oseredczuk: This relates to the nutrient content of each food, i.e. the fat, fatty acids, carbohydrate, total and individual sugars, protein, salt, vitamins and minerals it contains. This information tells you about the nutritional value of the most common foods in our daily diet.

You have just completed a major update of the data in the Ciqual table. What are the main new features?

Marine Oseredczuk: The last update was in 2020. Since then, the new data we've collected have enabled us to update the information for many foods and add 300 new foods, including kale, teriyaki sauce and pumpkin seeds. These additions reflect the changes in food consumption habits and the diversity of foods available in France.

The main nutrition information updates concern breakfast cereals, cheeses, dairy products and fresh desserts, biscuits and cakes, wholegrain products, breads and pastries, hot beverages and processed meats. We have also added seven new vitamin constituents. For example, there are now two forms of vitamin B9: folic acid added when foods are fortified and folates found naturally in foods.

The Ciqual table now includes 3484 foods and 74 constituents. This update better reflects the diversity of foods available in France.

We have also enhanced our online documentation to ensure greater transparency on the data production methodology, which is a real advantage for experienced users.

How did you obtain these new data?

Laure Du Chaffaut: Most of the data come from analyses carried out on food samples selected on the basis of the consumption habits of the French population. Sampling and analysis are carried out using recognised methods, in partnership with a laboratory selected according to a rigorous procedure. These efforts guarantee that the data are robust.

The other data come mainly from the OQALI food observatory, which monitors the supply of processed food products on the French market.

In total, more than 113,000 high-quality new data items have been added. This makes it a massive and particularly robust update.

How are these data used?

Marine Oseredczuk: These data are invaluable for finding out about the nutritional intake of the French population, by combining them with consumption surveys such as Albane, for example.

Some of the health risk assessments carried out by ANSES are also based on data from the Ciqual table. They include work currently under way to assess the share of the population whose nutritional intake falls short of requirements.

Quick access