Evaluation of food intake by means of 24 hour dietary recall in a town of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mycotoxins, secondary metabolites of toxigenic fungus, have been found to occur naturally in cereal crops and oil‐seeds. In Argentina, several mycotoxins were detected in raw materials and foodstuffs.

The objective of this study was the knowledge of food consumption patterns to assess mycotoxins exposure. A pilot survey was carried out in the Nueve de Julio town, Argentina. Approximately 5% of the inhabitants were assessed by a 24 hours recall and a data bank was generated to evaluate food intake.

The identification of high intake of cereal products with predominance of wheat foods in this survey added to the knowledge of mycotoxins contamination in Argentine cereals, allow us to conclude the necessity of evaluating toxicological risk of these toxins in human population.

Key words:

• Food intake
• 24 hours dietary recall
• dietary patterns
• food consumption
• mycotoxins