NutritionMV

Maldivian food nutrition data

There is almost no publicly available data on the actual nutritional content of Maldivian foods. Most dietary guidance relies on generic South Asian food composition tables that do not reflect local recipes, portion sizes, or cooking methods. NutritionMV is building the first open collection of nutrition profiles for Maldivian food – shorteats, curries, rice dishes, sweets, and drinks – calculated from weighted ingredient breakdowns and standard retention factors.

We are starting with hedhikaa – the shorteats that show up at every tea break, school canteen, and corner shop. More categories will be added as the project expands.

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About this data

Methodology & limitations

Nutrient values were estimated by decomposing each shorteat into its constituent ingredients, weighting by typical recipe proportions and applying USDA SR28 food composition data. Cooking method adjustments used standard nutrient retention factors from the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6.

Key assumptions:

  • Recipes are based on common household preparations collected from Maldivian sources; commercial variants may differ.
  • Portion weights represent typical single-piece servings weighed from multiple samples.
  • Oil absorption for deep-fried items uses standard retention factors (approximately 8-12% of cooked weight, varying by surface area).
  • Micronutrient values for blended spice mixes (e.g. curry paste) are estimated from dominant spice components.
  • %RDA columns reference WHO/FAO adult reference intakes for a 2,000 kcal diet.

All values should be treated as informed estimates, not laboratory-verified analytical results.

Several micronutrients are poorly characterised in standard food composition databases for the ingredients common to Maldivian shorteats:

  • Iodine: Not reported in USDA SR28 for most ingredients. Maldivian diets may have higher iodine from fish-based fillings, but this is not quantified here.
  • Vitamin D: Present in tuna and egg but highly variable by species and preparation; values are rough estimates.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids: Tuna-based shorteats likely contain meaningful EPA/DHA, but levels depend heavily on tuna species and are not broken out in these profiles.
  • Folate: Reported values may underestimate true content due to losses during extended cooking.

These gaps reflect limitations in the underlying composition databases rather than analytical error. Users requiring precise micronutrient data for clinical or regulatory purposes should commission direct laboratory analysis.