College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and CRCH launch Hawai‘i Foods website

Find valuable nutrient information, recipes on local foods

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cyndy Kahalewale, (808) 956-9114
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Posted: Sep 26, 2007

HONOLULU — How many calories are there in a Spam musubi? How much potassium in an apple banana? Answers to those questions and nutrient information about local foods commonly eaten in Hawaiʻi are now available on a new Hawaiʻi Foods website (http://hawaiifoods.hawaii.edu). This rich resource is the collaborative effort of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa‘s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and Cancer Research Center of Hawaiʻi (CRCH).

"The Hawaiʻi Foods website is designed to provide food and nutrient information that will assist people in making healthier dietary choices" said Dean Andrew Hashimoto of CTAHR. "People in Hawaiʻi eat not only foods common to a Western diet, but also foods that are found in Asian and Pacific Islander diets as well. We now have an easily accessible website with data regarding the calories, protein, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, and other nutrients in foods like apple banana, bittermelon, breadfruit, poi, poke, inari sushi, lau lau, meat jun and about 150 other items."

In addition to nutrient information, the Hawaiʻi Foods website contains recipes and publications focused on local foods and an interactive "My Diet" feature that allows visitors to assess the quality of their personal diets. The nutrient intake recommendations for this feature are based on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture‘s Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes set by the Institute of Medicine.

Carl-Wilhelm Vogel, Director of CRCH said, "Nutrition information is a tool that can be used to prevent certain diseases and to maintain good health. This is especially important now with the rising rates of obesity, cancer, diabetes, and other conditions. The Hawaiʻi Foods website will be useful to professionals who counsel others regarding dietary choices, as well as to members of the general public who want to learn more about the many foods produced and consumed in Hawaiʻi." The Hawaiʻi Foods website will be updated frequently with new information and resources.

For more information, contact Cyndy Kahalewale at 956-9114, kahalewa@hawaii or visit http://hawaiifoods.hawaii.edu.

For more information, visit: http://hawaiifoods.hawaii.edu