Refining the Estimate of Fruit Consumption in Brazil’s National Food Consumption Survey: Quantifying the “Cherry on the Cake”

Abstract

Background

Cultural differences can influence how foods are defined, classified, and quantified, making it challenging to compare and interpret dietary data on national and global levels. Data harmonization plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges, and the FAO/WHO GIFT (Global Individual Food Consumption Data Tool) platform provides a framework for promoting harmonized data sharing.

Objectives

This observational study aimed to quantify fruit consumption in Brazil in a harmonized manner, supporting national assessments and contributing to global dietary data-sharing efforts.

Methods

We analyzed 24-hour dietary recall data from the latest Brazilian National Food Consumption Survey (Inquérito Nacional de Alimentação/Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares) across 3 analytical scenarios to progressively improve comparability and detail about fruit consumption trends and consumed varieties: 1) original data, 2) data with harmonized food group classification, and 3) data with harmonized food group classification and recipe disaggregation.

Results

In total, we identified 85 distinct fruit types. The 5 most consumed fruits in Brazil were banana (22.8%), orange (16.2%), apple (12.8%), papaya (9.1%), and açai berry (7.3%). Notably, açai berry stood out as the most consumed fruit in the North region (36.7%). Recipe disaggregation revealed 77 recipes containing fruits (7.9% of the total reported fruit consumption) and included 22 different fruits as ingredients. This significantly increased the number of identified fruit consumers in Brazil, with proportions of consumers rising from 37.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 37.0%, 38.9%] in scenario (1) to 52.2% (95% CI: 51.2%, 53.2%) in scenario (3). The mean daily fruit consumption per capita was estimated at 79.8 g/d (95% CI: 77.3 g/d, 82.3 g/d) and 49.7 g/1000 kcal/d (95% CI: 48.2 g/1000 kcal/d, 51.3 g/1000 kcal/d).

Conclusions

The analysis reveals substantial variations in fruit consumption across regions, sex, age groups, education levels, income levels, and ethnic groups. This study highlights the critical importance of food group classification and recipe disaggregation in measuring fruit consumption, thereby increasing the comparability of data within and between countries through data harmonization.