*3.3. Vitamins*

Vitamin A (Tables 11–13**)** was only present in *kunafa* and meat patties (200 μg and 24.3/100 g of food, respectively). However, β-carotene was present in twenty-five of the foods analysed. In addition, results from the NDNS showed that mean daily intake of most vitamins derived from dietary sources were close to or above the RNI [5]. Based on UK recommendation for vitamin A [55], *kunafa* could contribute about a third of the RNI of vitamin A (i.e., representing RNI of about 33% for females, 29% for males (11 years and over); 50% RNI for children age 1 to 10 years). However, this dessert is high in sugar and therefore modified recipe (containing reduced sugar) should be adopted by those who consume it. Vitamin D was not present in any of the foods. People of Black ethnicity are among the groups identified as vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency [50]. It is therefore crucial that, this population group increases their exposure to sunlight and also take supplements to avoid the risk of deficiency since dietary sources are unlikely to meet the current RNI of 10 μg per day [66]. There is growing interest around the bioavailability, metabolism, nonantioxidant activity and the role of the various forms of vitamin E in human diseases. Alpha-and gamma-tocopherols are considered the two major forms of the vitamin depending on the source [67]. European Food Safety Authority, EFSA [68] defined Adequate Intake of alpha-tocopheral as 13 mg/day for men, 11 mg/day for women, 6 mg/day for children aged 1 to <3 years (both sexes), 9 mg/day for children aged 3 to <10 years (both sees), for children aged 10 to <18 years, 13 mg/day for boys and 11 mg/day for girls and for infants aged 7–11 months, this was set at 5 mg/day. *Shito* could contribute adequate amount of alpha-tocopherol to the diet. This is likely to be due to the high PUFA content of this sauce.

The water-soluble vitamin composition of the food also varied. Folate was present in most foods, unlike vitamins C and B12. Folate levels range from 0 to 43.2 μg/100 g which is below the RNI for all age groups. The UK governmen<sup>t</sup> has launched a consultation in 2019 to consider the practicality and of mandatory folic acid fortification, along with the controls on voluntary fortification [69]. The absence or low levels of vitamin C may be attributable to heat losses during cooking. Groundnut soup and goa<sup>t</sup> curry contained the highest amount of biotin (16.1 μg/100 g) and vitamin B12 (2.13 μg/100 g), respectively. Similarly, the highest concentration of calcium pantothenate (1.25 mg/100 g) and vitamin B5 (1.15 mg/100 g) were found in *jerk* chicken and vitamin B1 (0.297 mg/100 g) in Malta drink. Guinness punch had the most amount of vitamins B2 (0.295 mg/100 g) and B6 (0.231 mg/100 g).

#### *3.4. Comparison with Similar Foods in the UK Nutrient Database (McCance and Widdowson's the Composition of Foods)*

The only similar food identified in McCance and Widdowson's The composition of foods [70] was ripe plantain, fried in vegetable oil. This was di fferent in composition to the plantain chips in the current data. For instance, the moisture content was higher (34.7 g vs. 4 g), fat lower (9.2 g vs. 24.2 g) and lower energy (267 kcal vs. 484 g) in the ripe plantain, fried in vegetable oil compared to the plantain chips in the current study. The di fferences would be due to the cooking method, variety of plantain and degree of ripening. In addition, fried plantain is usually consumed as part of a dish whereas plantain chips are snacks. Furthermore, plantain chips in the current study are prepacked samples that are thinly-sliced and deep fat fried to reduce moisture content and enhance shelf life. Foods such as *rice and peas* and *jerk* chicken are very popularly consumed among both the majority and ethnic minority populations in the UK [19–31], but nutrient data for these foods are not available in the McCance and Widdowson food composition tables [70].

#### *3.5. Strengths and Limitations*

The study team comprised of trained researchers (including a food scientist and registered nutritionists) with experience in food composition and analyses, and who are of African or Caribbean ethnicity. As previously described by Apekey et al. [14], the various sources, approaches and interview probing questions used enabled the identification of popularly consumed foods. The use of focus group interviews and 24-h dietary recalls also enabled the identification of foods regularly consumed, determination of the frequency of consumption over a period and also improved precision. The interviews and focus group discussions lasted for an hour and therefore allowed for the researchers to capture detailed information on traditional foods, recipes, cooking methods and frequency of consumption. The use of volunteers of the relevant ethnicities in the food preparation in a university Nutrition kitchen allowed for variations in recipes and cooking methods to be taken into account, thereby enhancing the authenticity of the dishes, beverages and snacks. Furthermore, the food samples were analysed in a UK accredited laboratory with trained sta ff and rigorous quality assurance procedures were followed to ensure the data obtained is reliable and valid.

Limitations of the study include possible introduction of selection bias by the use of convenient sampling to recruit volunteer. However, this approach of sampling through community partnerships or organisations has been shown to improve recruitment of minority ethnic groups into health-related research [71]. The use of 24-h recall may introduce recall bias since it relies on the memory of the volunteers [72]. Although analysing individual foods instead of composite ones may improve the representativeness of the samples analysed, this approach is more complex, time consuming [73] and beyond the scope of the present study.

#### *3.6. Implications for Future Research and Practice*

These new nutrient data will contribute to ongoing interactive educational workshops with local communities, and nutrition education and resources in diabetes clinics. The data will allow for better quantification of nutrient intake and recommendations for appropriate serving sizes in these population groups. Furthermore, they will also enable health care professionals to identify which foods to encourage or otherwise, when providing dietary advice. The data will be made available to international and relevant European agencies, for inclusion in their Nutrient Databanks such as the UK's McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods. It will also be made available to health authorities, policy makers and other bodies that have direct influence on promoting health and wellbeing. The data will have various potential uses including (1) contribution to the evidence base of food habits and diet quality, of direct value to nutritional surveys and health surveillance in African and Caribbean populations in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, (2) provide information for components of health promotion programmes contributing to addressing health inequalities and improving quality of life, (3) provide accurate energy and nutrient composition of key dishes for more reliable nutrition labelling and (4) further contributing to health promotion, and food composition data, and the nutrition, dietetics and public health curriculum in the UK and elsewhere.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/8/10/500/s1, Figure S1: Stages in the prioritisation of popular dishes, snacks and beverages., Figure S2: Composite samples preparation protocol, Figure S3: Stages in the preparation of composite samples.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, T.A.A.; Methodology, T.A.A.; Formal analysis, T.A.A., M.J.M. and J.C.; Investigation, T.A.A., J.C., N.H.K., O.A.T., M.K., D.W. and M.J.M.; Resources, T.A.A., M.J.M., J.C., N.H.K., O.A.T.; M.K.; D.W. and.; Data curation, T.A.A., M.J.M., J.C., N.H.K., O.A.T., M.K., D.W. and Writing—original draft preparation, T.A.A.; Writing—T.A.A., M.J.M., J.C., N.H.K., O.A.T., M.K., D.W. and.; Supervision, T.A.A.; Project administration, T.A.A., M.J.M., J.C. and.; Funding acquisition, T.A.A., M.J.M.

**Funding:** The research was internally funded by Leeds Beckett University Early Career, Research Cluster awards and Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF).

**Acknowledgments:** We are grateful to all our volunteers who gave their time to take part in the focus group discussions, interviews and cooking sessions. Our sincere gratitude also goes to Judy Springer, Denisa Copeland and Joan Fishley for their help with the cooking sessions.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
