Objective To describe procedures and rationale for selection and adaptation of food composition from a single database during pilot study of ELANS. Methods: ELANS is a multicenter cross‐sectional study of representative sample (15‐65 years, 3 socioeconomic strata) of 8 Latin American countries. A standard study protocol was designed to investigate dietary intake of 8,000 subjects. The results of pilot study at small scale performed in each country are presented. Two 24‐hour recalls using Multiple Pass Method, were applied and data entered into the Nutrition Data System for Research program (NDS‐R, v.2013). A food matching standardized procedure involving a nutritional equivalency of local food items (food, beverages, and recipes) reported by the study subjects of each country to foods available in NDS‐R database was strictly conducted by professional nutritionists in each country. Regional food preparations were provided by national publications and entered into the software as standard recipes. Results: A pre‐test was conducted with 400 subjects. A total of 4,400 standardizations, considering food and recipes, were made in ELANS. A mean of 423 food items and 205 recipes were standardized in each country. A concordance rate of at least 80% to 120% for energy and macronutrient content was considered to establish nutritional equivalency. Conclusion This study will result in a unique dataset for Latin America, enabling cross‐country comparisons of nutritional status. Financial Support: The Coca‐Cola Company