Relevant shellfish consumption data for dietary exposure assessment among high shellfish consumers, Western Brittany, France

Abstract

Shellfish consumption can be a major pathway of exposure to pollutants for humans. It is fundamental to know if people eat enough shellfish to cause health problems, firstly in high consumers as recreational shellfish harvesters. The objectives of this study were to investigate the types of shellfish eaten, number of meals, portion size, sources of shellfish and shellfish consumption rates among French recreational shellfish harvesters; to determine factors affecting consumption patterns and to examine the reliability of the two methods used: a Food Frequency Questionnaire and a one-month food diary. The mean consumption rates were 11.63 and 26.21 g/person/day for shellfish derived from a self-harvested source only and from all sources, respectively. Harvester consumption rates were between 6- and 15-fold higher than the general French population. The comparison between the FFQ and the food diary showed that results were reliable. Thereby, our results are relevant to assess risk due to shellfish consumption.

Keywords:

• shellfish consumption
• questionnaire
• food safety
• exposure assessment
• recreative harvesters

Acknowledgments

The authors offer special thanks to Sally Ferguson and Megan O'Connor for reviewing the English translation and to Ewan Gery for his precious technical help.