IDENTIFICATION OF ETHNIC FOODS
COMMONLY AVAILABLE IN SPAIN
J. Ngo, E.Baladia, A. Farran
Centre d'Ensenyament Superior de Nutrició i Dietética (CESNID), adscrito a la Universitat de Barcelona
Recinte Torribera, Av. Prat de la Riba 171, 08921 Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Http://ww.cesnid.es
jngo@cesnid.es
To identify ethnic foods and prioritise those most commonly available in Spain for inclusion in a European Food Composition Table Database as part
of the EuroFIR* Project (European Food Information Resource Network of Excellence FOOD-CT-2005-513944).
Objectives
Centre adscrit a la
I World Congress of Public Health Nutrition - VII Congreso Nacional de la Sociedad Española de Nutrición Comunitaria (SENC).
Project partners elaborated a consensus definition of “ ”.
: a food from countries other than the home market contributing to a different food culture than the traditional cuisine of the host country.
Food may be adapted by combining local and imported ingredients and is prepared at home.
: a commercially-modified version of food as prepared in the immigrant's country to suit the taste and preference of host
country. Food may be adapted by combining local and imported ingredients.
The following criteria were applied for prioritising foods in Spain: the relative size of ethnic populations (excluding European Union member states);
food consumption; available modified ethnic foods (brand names and restaurant dishes); health implications; existing reliable composition data.
Due to overlapping ethnic populations amongst EuroFIR partners, Spain focused on Latin American for ethnic population consumption plus
modified ethnic foods for the mainstream population.
Data collection included: a) literature searches on immigrant statistics, nutrition and health as well as studies on authentic or modified ethnic foods
and consumption data b) onsite and online ethnic grocers/supermarket/retailer/manufacturer and ethnic restaurant surveys; c) market reports on
modified commercial ethnic foods d) published food composition tables and e) email surveys to LatinAmerican professional associations (dietitians
and culinary experts).
ethnic foods
Ethnic food
Modified ethnic food
Material and Methods
203 ethnic ingredients and dishes were identified in which Chinese and Mexican products were the most popular modified ethnic foods. Foods
consumed by the ethnic population ranged from traditional dishes to speciality ingredients such as corn/potato varieties not consumed by the
mainstream population.
Results
These results confirm the importance of ethnic foods for food consumption in Spain, not only among immigrant groups but also in the general
population. Due to funding limitations, not all identified ingredients/products are able to be included in the European Food Composition Database.
Moreover, there is very little consumption data available and further research is needed to identify actual consumption of ethnic foods both in the
mainstream and immigrant populations in Spain.
Conclusions
The percentage of foreigners in Spain is 7 %. Origins of the immigrant population are diverse, with Latin America comprising the largest group,
followed by the European Union, North Africa, Non EU countries, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethnic foods have increased in popularity and thus
knowledge of their composition is important when evaluating levels of nutrient intakes, naturally-occurring compounds and contaminants.
However, nutrient composition data is lacking for many ethnic foods consumed by both immigrant and mainstream populations.
Introduction
* EuroFIR, the world-leading European Network of Excellence on Food Composition Databank systems (www.eurofir.net), is a partnership between 40 universities, research institutes
and small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from 21 European countries. EuroFIR aims to develop and integrate a comprehensive, coherent and validated databank providing a
single, authoritative source of food composition data in Europe. The project started on 1st January 2005 and will be funded until December 2009.
Origin of the immigrant population (2004)
Africa; 18,13%
Latin America; 44,02%
European Union;
19,67%
Non EU countries;
12,86%
Asia; 4,47%
Unknown; 0,02%
Oceania; 0,06%
North America; 0,77%
Source: INE Base: 3.034.326
Percentages of ethnic restaurants of total surveyed
European
2%
North American
2%
Japanese
3%
Latin American
2%
French
3%
Arab
3%
Asian
3%
Argentinian
3%
International
25%
Chinese
25%
Italian
23%
Mexican
3%
Indian
2%
German
1%
Food Descriptors Source
1 Rice, 3 delight (dish) Asia R,C,S
2 Oriental noodles with shrimp (dish) Asia R,C,S
3 Chicken with almonds (dish) Asia R,C
4 Chinese bun (fried) Asia R,C
5 Spring roll Asia (cocktail, reg, ham and cheese) R,C,S
6 Ceviche LA (Ecuador) R,C
7 Tofu Asia, Vegetarian S
8 Seitan Asia, Vegetarian S
9 Guacamole CA R,S
10 Fajita CA R,S
11 Burritos CA, various types R,C,S
12 Quesadilla CA, various types R,S
13 Taco CA, vaious types R,S
14 Mexican salsa (tomate/chilli base) CA, LA (hot, mild) R,S
15 Enchilada CA: various types R,S
16 Potatoe, dried (Chuño) LA (black:Solanum andigenum Juz et Buk) (white: Solanum tuberosum) S
17 Malta LA non alcoholic drink S
18 Yuca or Cassava (Manihot esculenta ) LA, Africa S
19 Yuca or Cassava Flour LA, Africa S
20 Cornmeal LA, CA S
21 Dulce de leche "milk caramel candy" LA, CA S
22 Refried beans LA, CA S
23 Blue Corn (zea mays L. ) LA, CA S
24 White corn (zea mays L.) LA, CA : "Mote"(whole) or "Choclo" (course ground) S
25 Broadbean /Favabean Flour LA, CA S
26 Achiote/Annatto seed LA, CA, Asia: pasta/ or seed S
27 Chayote (Sechium edule ) LA,CA, Asia S
*prioritised from 203 identified ethnic food products/ingredients
KEY
CA= Central America; LA= Latin America
R= Restaurant Survey; C=Consumption Survey; S=Ethnic grocer/Supermarket Survey
ETHNIC FOOD PRIORITISED LIST FOR SPAIN*
