Use of a food composition database to estimate daily dietary intake of nutrient or trace elements in Japan, with reference to its limitation

Abstract

Daily dietary intake of 28 trace elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Ge, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, Tl, V and Zn) were estimated from the food intake records (collected by the 24‐h total food duplicate method), taking advantage of recently published trace element composition tables for foods in Japan. Because the number of food items listed in the tables was not sufficient, the calculation was made with not all foods recorded, and the results should be taken as semi‐quantitative. The estimated intake was high (i.e. > 1 mg/day as a median) for Al, Cu, Mg, Mn, Si, Sr and Zn, medium (i.e. 2–985 μg/day) for As, B, Ba, Be, Cr, Ge, Mo, Ni, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn and Ti, and low (i.e. < 1 μg/day) for Cd, Co, Li, Pb and V. Comparison of the present estimates with the reported values in the literature on 15 elements showed that close agreements were observed in the cases of 10 elements (i.e. Al, B, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se and Zn) for which the present estimates are above 1 μg/day, whereas the discrepancies were significant for four elements (i.e. Cd, Co, Pb and V) with < 1 μg/day intake. When the expected dietary uptake was compared with that by respiration in the cases of the 16 elements for which the atmospheric concentration data in Japan are available, the uptake was exclusively attributable to the dietary route for all 16 elements with the possible exception of vanadium.

Keywords:

• daily dietary intake
• food duplicate
• Japan
• respiratory burden
• trace elements

Notes

Present address to whom correspondence should be addressed: Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo‐Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo‐ku, Kyoto 604, Japan.