Estimation of iron, copper, zinc and manganese intake from duplicate diets provided by hospitals in Poland, 1993-96

Abstract

Daily intakes of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) from whole-day food rations composed by dieticians and collected in hospital canteens in Krakow, Lodz, Olsztyn and Poznan, Poland, in the winters of 1993/94, 1995 and 1996, were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The average intake of Fe, 14 mg day^-1, was satisfactory for both women and men; 13 mg Zn fulfilled the safe level for women (taken as the recommended minimum level to meet the needs of 97.5% of the population) but it was too low for men, and 1.3 mg Cu corresponded to 65–72% of the safe level set for this microelement in Poland. There is no recommended level set in Poland for Mn, but compared with recommended levels in Germany and the USA, the determined daily Mn intake equal to 3.7 mg should be sufficient. Statistical analysis confirmed higher amounts of Zn and Mn in diets collected in Krakow, higher Cu content in diets from 1996, and lower Mn content in food collected in 1995.

Keywords:

• Food
• Intake
• Iron
• Copper
• Zinc
• Manganese