Food component profiles for fruit and vegetable subgroups

To be of practical use to nutrition professionals and consumers, subgroup classifications for fruits and vegetables should be based on similarity in food composition and on easily identifiable classification characteristics. The means and standard deviations (SDs) for 24 food components (including total antioxidant capacity) in previously identified subgroups for fruits and vegetables were determined. The subgroups (dark green leafy vegetables; cabbage family vegetables; lettuces; legumes; Allium family bulbs; deep orange/yellow fruits, roots, and tubers; tomatoes and other red vegetables and fruits; citrus family fruits; red/purple/blue berries; and other fruits and vegetables) highest in food component concentrations were identified. In addition, proposed vegetable subgroups for the 2010 version of the USDA MyPyramid food guide were identified as dark green leafy vegetables and broccoli, other leafy vegetables, legumes, unique vegetables (deep orange, tomatoes, Allium vegetables, etc.), and additional vegetables. Means and SDs for 24 food components in the 5 proposed MyPyramid vegetable subgroups were determined to assess which groups had the highest concentrations of the food components.