Intake and excretion of cadmium of Japanese adult.

OBJECTIVE: It is the aim of this study if the recent Cd intake and excretion is consistent with the regression equation proposed by Ikeda et al. (Environ. Health Prev. Med. 20 (2015) 455-459) which utilized intake/excretion data of 3 decades ago METHOD: Matched duplicate diet and spot urine samples were collected in 2017-2019 from 150 Japanese adults (85 females and 65 males, mean age being 44.9) for the estimation of daily Cd intake and urinary excretion. Cd concentration in diet and urine was measured by ICP mass spectrometry. RESULT: Geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) of Cd intake was 12.1 (1.67) µg/person/day or 0.206 (1.66) µg/kg body wt./day. Urinary Cd concentration was 0.54 (2.6) µg/g creatinine or 0.67 µg/L (2.3) (gravimetric correction). These were lower than those reported previously for Japanese populations. Urinary concentration was significantly higher in females than in males for both creatinine and gravimetric corrections. Dietary intake was higher in males than in females but this difference diminished after body weight correction. There was no significant correlation between Cd intake and urinary concentration on individual basis, which was expected because urinary Cd concentration reflects Cd body burden but not recent intake level. Meanwhile, the geometric mean intake and urine concentration was consistent with the regression equation proposed by Ikeda et al., which was based on intake and excretion surveys for 30 non-exposed Japanese female populations. CONCLUSION: This result supported that the regression equation of Ikeda et al. could be used for conversion of urinary Cd excretion level of a population to intake level.

Dietary intake of methylmercury by 0-5 years children using the duplicate diet method in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The developing brains are sensitive to methylmercury (MeHg). However, the exposure to MeHg in baby foods and toddler meals remains unknown. This study aimed to determine MeHg intake from baby food or toddler meals, and to investigate the relationship with child hair total mercury (THg). METHODS: A total of 3 days of 24-hour dietary diet and hair samples were collected from 260 consenting children aged 0-5 years. We measured the concentrations of THg and MeHg in the diet and THg in the hair. RESULTS: The results of measuring THg were below both the method detection and method quantification limits or either of both in powdered milk (93.8%), 5-6 months (53.3%), and 7-8 months (39.5%). The median daily THg intake was 20.3 (95% confidence interval 0.72-232.5) ng/kgbw. MeHg was not detected in 213 samples with dietary THg concentrations below 1 ng/g. The MeHg concentration with THg concentrations of 1 ng/g or higher was 1.70 (0.87-6.21) ng/g, and MeHg percentage in THg was 90.0%. To estimate MeHg intake, we multiplied the THg concentration by 90.0%, resulting in an estimated MeHg intake of 18.3 (0.65-209.2) ng/kgbw/day. The THg in children's hair was 1.05 (0.31-3.96) ppm, and a weak positive correlation was observed between hair THg and dietary MeHg (r = 0.170). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the accurate estimation of MeHg intake in children using a duplicate method. Japanese children consume fish, the MeHg intakes exceeded the reference dose and/or provisional tolerable weekly intake in several children. Further discussion based on epidemiological data is required.

Assessment of dietary acrylamide exposure in children attending Spanish school canteens using the duplicate diet method.

Acrylamide is a carcinogenic chemical contaminant formed in heat-treated foods. In this study, a duplicate diet method was used to evaluate the acrylamide content of foods/meals served at breakfast and lunch in two Spanish school canteens. The dietary acrylamide intake in students was estimated within lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) scenarios. Biscuits exhibited the highest acrylamide values, exceeding the benchmark level established by the European Regulation 2017/2158 (350 µg/kg), followed by main courses such as stews, side dishes and bread. In the LB scenario, breakfasts accounted for the major contributors to the daily acrylamide intake (73.3%). However, lunches were the main responsible in the UB scenario (65.4%). Acrylamide exposure was estimated for three age ranges: 3-5y pre-school children (0.59 and 0.92 µg/kg body weight/day), 6-9y children (0.43 and 0.67 µg/kg body weight/day) and 10-12y early adolescents (0.28 and 0.44 µg/kg body weight/day). Margins of exposure for neoplastic effects ranged between 144 and 1026, which is below the reference of 10,000, indicating a health concern. The findings reveal that any diet, even one that is balanced, varied and contains foods low in acrylamide, involves an additive exposure to the contaminant that should be considered when conducting acrylamide exposure risk assessments.

Dietary Exposure to Glutamates of 2- to 5-Year-Old Toddlers in China Using the Duplicate Diet Method.

A duplicate diet collection method was used to estimate dietary exposure to glutamates in children aged 2-5 years in selected provinces of China. Daily duplicate diet samples were collected from 86 healthy toddlers over three consecutive days. Glutamates were analyzed using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-MS/MS (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results showed that the highest glutamates content was found in mixed meals, at 5.12 mg/kg, followed by powdered formula (3.89 mg/kg), and milk and dairy products (2.29 mg/kg). The total mean daily dietary exposure for subjects was 0.20 mg/kg BW, and P95 daily dietary exposure was 0.44 mg/kg BW, both below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) (120 mg/kg BW) recommended by the Joint (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the ADI (30 mg/kg BW) set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Hence it can be considered that glutamates exposure would cause low risk in this group.

Dietary heavy metal(loid)s exposure and prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka.

Intake of heavy metals and metalloids through the diet is posing a big research challenge in Sri Lanka due to the increasing occurrence of chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) among the farming communities pursuing their livelihoods in the North Central Province (NCP). Duplicated diet studies were conducted on a sample of 62 individuals comprising adult males, adult females, boys, and girls who were selected following a demographic survey in an area of the NCP where there was a high incidence of CKDu. A health risk assessment was made by analysing the heavy metal(loid)s content in the diet samples, by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Rice and vegetables constituted the main diet in the CKDu prevalent areas, with all gender and age categories adhering to similar daily diet patterns. Results of the heavy metal(loid) analysis of duplicated food intake samples indicated that the amounts of Pb in rice, As and Pb in vegetables, and Cd in fish exceeded the recommended daily limits. Because consumption of rice was much higher than the other food items, the estimated daily intake of Pb exceeded the permissible daily intake of 3.5 µg/kgBW/day. There were no significant differences between the age and gender categories in respect of estimated daily intake of Pb, which suggested that the entire population of the study area faced the risk of a high level of Pb exposure. Further, the hazard quotient of Pb was greater than 1. Influence of heavy metal(loid)s on the prevalence of CKDu cannot be understated, and as such interventions are required as a matter of urgency to reduce the local population's dietary exposure to heavy metal(loid)s.

Vitamin B12 may play a preventive role in esophageal precancerous lesions: a case-control study based on markers in blood and 3-day duplicate diet samples.

PURPOSE: It is hypothesized that vitamin B12 may prevent tumor initiation during the early stage of carcinogenesis such as esophageal precancerous lesions (EPL), whereas an excessive level may promote tumor progression during the later stages of carcinogenesis. This study aimed to determine the role of vitamin B12 in EPL by detecting vitamin B12-related markers in both blood and diet. METHODS: This case-control study based on 3-day duplicated diet samples was conducted in a high-risk area of Huai'an, China. A 100 EPL cases and 100 healthy controls matched by gender, age (± 2 years) and villages were included. Dietary intake of vitamin B12 and cobalt, plasma cobalt level, the serum levels of vitamin B12 and transcobalamin II (TC II) were quantitatively analyzed. RESULTS: Dietary vitamin B12 intake (p for trend = 0.384) and plasma cobalt level (p for trend = 0.253) were not associated with EPL risk, but high dietary cobalt intake (p for trend = 0.034), increased serum levels of vitamin B12 (p for trend = 0.036) and TC II (p for trend < 0.001) were significantly associated with the reduced EPL risk. However, the significant negative association between dietary cobalt intake, plasma cobalt level or serum vitamin B12 level and EPL was only found in female or male subjects. CONCLUSION: Excellent transport capability of bio-active vitamin B12 in vivo and adequate levels of vitamin B12 and cobalt may play preventive roles in EPL. Additionally, the association between vitamin B12, cobalt and the risk of EPL may vary in different genders.

Estimation of dietary intake and sources of organohalogenated contaminants among infants: 24-h duplicate diet survey in Fukuoka, Japan.

The widespread occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment is a matter of concern. In this study, selected organohalogenated contaminants, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlordanes (CHLs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP), were measured in complete meal sets (24-h duplicate-diet) of Japanese infants to investigate the levels, profiles, and possible sources of contamination. In total, 46 whole-day meals of infants (7-24-months old) were collected during 2017 from Fukuoka, Japan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report based on the duplicate-diet method for infants. The median intakes among the POP groups were highest for ΣDDTs (18 ng/day, maximum 251 ng/day), followed by ΣPCBs (17 ng/day, maximum 198 ng/day), ΣCHLs (14 ng/day, maximum 105 ng/day), HCB (11 ng/day, maximum 64 ng/day), TBP (3.5 ng/day, maximum 109 ng/day), ΣHBCDs (1.9 ng/day, maximum 70 ng/day), TBBPA (0.72 ng/day, maximum 34 ng/day), and ΣPBDEs (0.11 ng/day, maximum 4.5 ng/day). Among the PCBs, PCB-138 and PCB-153 were the most abundant congeners (27% and 23%, respectively). p,p'-DDE, the major DDT metabolite, accounted for 96% of total DDTs. Among PBDEs, BDE47 was the only detected congener (present in 4% of the samples). The dietary intake of the targeted compounds was lower than the intake via breast milk, suggesting that the exposure from baby food was limited. In the principal component analysis, chlorinated and brominated compounds were separated on principal component 1, while TBP and α-HBCD were separated on principal component 2, likely suggesting a differing emission time trend or source. PCB-153, PCB-138, trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, and trans-nonachlor were correlated with seafood consumption (Spearman's ρ = 0.45 to 0.57, p < 0.05), while TBP was correlated with seaweed consumption (Spearman's ρ = 0.46, p < 0.05). Also, four species of commercial edible seaweed in Japan were analyzed to confirm the findings of the duplicate-diet study. The relatively high concentration of TBP (5.5 ± 6.6 ng/g wet weight) was observed in the seaweed samples, indicating that seaweed is a potential exposure source of TBP.

Dietary exposure to fatty acid esters of monochloropropanediols and glycidol of 2- to 3-year-old children attending nursery schools from two areas in China using the duplicate-diet collection method.

The dietary exposures to fatty esters of 3- and 2-monochloropropanediol (MCPD) and glycidol were estimated for children aged 2- to 3-year-old from two areas of China using duplicate diet collection method. The 24-h daily duplicate diet samples over three consecutive days were collected from 40 healthy children aged between 26 and 36 months. The analysis of these contaminates in food samples was measured by an indirect method that entails MCPD/glycidol cleavage from their esterified forms for GC-MS analysis. Over 71% of the mixed diet and dairy products samples were found to be contaminated with 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters. The estimated daily exposure to bound 3-MCPD (mean: 0.48-0.49 µg kg-1 bw day-1; P95: 1.00-1.11 µg kg-1 bw day-1) were well below the health guidance values and were considered of low safety concern. The daily exposure to bound 2-MCPD was estimated to be 0.031-0.038 µg kg-1 bw day-1 on average and 0.12-0.14 µg kg-1 bw day-1 for the P95 exposure. However, it was not possible to assess its risk due to the lack of health guidance value of 2-MCPD. The margin of exposure (MOE) estimates for the mean exposure to bound glycidol (0.10-0.12 µg kg-1 bw day-1) were far above 10000 and were considered of low safety concern. However, the margin of exposure estimates for the P95 bound glycidol exposure (0.41-0.45 µg kg-1 bw day-1) were below 10000 and indicated a health concern. Our data indicated that the mixed diet accounted for nearly 76% to 91% of bound MCPD and glycidol exposure. In addition, the follow-on formula was also an important source for the children aged 2-3 years.

Association of dietary intake and urinary excretion of inorganic arsenic in the Japanese subjects.

Quantitative relationship between intake of inorganic arsenic (iAs) and urinary excretion of iAs and its metabolite, methylarsonic acid (MMA), was investigated for 150 adult Japanese subjects. Duplicate diet was used for the determination of intake and first void of urine on the next day of duplicate diet sampling was used for urinary iAs + MMA determination. Speciation analysis of arsenic in diet and urine was carried out with liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Geometric mean iAs intake of the subjects was 0.349 µg/kg/day and that of urinary iAs + MMA concentration was 5.20 ng As/mL (specific gravity (SG) corrected) or 4.05 ng As/mg creatinine (Cre). There was a significant positive correlation between iAs intake and urinary iAs + MMA concentration: the correlation coefficient between intake and Cre-corrected urinary concentration (r = 0.544) was greater than that between intake and SG-corrected concentration (r = 0.458). The regression equation of intake-excretion was: log10[dailyintake]=0.451×log10[creatininecorrectedurinaryiAs+MMA]+0.814. This equation has a practical value for converting urinary As levels, measured as a biomarker of exposure in epidemiologic study, to dietary intake levels in the future risk assessment.

Human dietary and internal exposure to zearalenone based on a 24-hour duplicate diet and following morning urine study.

Zearalenone is a widespread mycotoxin with high estrogenic activity. This study aimed to characterize the exposure of ZEN in a Chinese population during harvest season in 2016. Exposure to ZEN was measured using both duplicate diet method and human biomonitoring approaches. Duplicate diet samples from 199 individuals (4-80 years old) and their following morning urine samples were collected and analyzed using LC-MS/MS methods sensitive for ZEN, ZAN, α/ß-ZEL and α/ß-ZAL. ZEN was detected in 59.8% of the food samples at a mean level of 1.21 ± 2.15 µg/kg. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of ZEN was calculated from food contamination and consumption data at a mean level of 25.6 ± 38.6 ng/kg bw/day, representing 10.2% of the tolerable daily intake (TDI) set by EFSA and 5.1% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) set by JECFA, respectively. Wheat appears to be the main diet source of ZEN exposure, contributing over 80% of the mean EDI. Children had the highest EDI at 37.5 ± 56.3 ng/kg bw/day (p < 0.05). Urine samples were analyzed both before and after enzymatic hydrolysis to determine the free and total amounts of ZEN biomarkers. The majority of ZEN was excreted as conjugates with the mean fZEN/tBM ratio of 25.4%. Adolescents had the highest excretion of ZEN biomarkers among all age groups (p < 0.05). Probable daily intake (PDI) was calculated from ZEN biomarkers and an excretion rate of 36.8%, giving a mean value of 41.6 ± 65.5 ng/kg bw/day. Significant correlation between internal and external exposure measurement was evidenced in this study (r = 0.344, p < 0.01). Although the mean PDI was approximately 1.6 times the mean EDI, these two approaches resulted in similar calculated degrees of ZEN exposure, both markedly below the health-based guidance value. This study is the first to compare ZEN exposure in a same population based on both diet study and human biomonitoring approaches. Significant differences of PDI/EDI ratios were found in different age groups (p < 0.05), possibly indicative of diversified excretion capabilities and metabolism patterns within the population.

Biomonitoring of co-exposure to bisphenols by consumers of canned foodstuffs.

For non-occupationally exposed adults, dietary intake is the main route of exposure to bisphenols (BPs), with canned foodstuffs playing a key role. This study was aimed at biomonitoring bisphenol A (BPA) and 5 more BP analogues (BPB, BPE, BPF, BPAF and BPZ) in spot urine and blood samples of a cohort of adults, who followed a diet based on a high consumption of canned food. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study aimed at assessing the co-exposure of BP analogues in food and biological samples after a two-day duplicate diet study. The estimated total dietary exposure was 0.37 and 0.045 µg/kg body weight/day, for the canned-diet and control groups, respectively. BPA was the compound with the highest concentration in urine in comparison with the values of the remaining BP analogues. A high detection rate of BPA was noted in urine for both groups, 96% for the canned-diet group and 90% for the control group, while in blood it could be only quantified in 6% of the samples. The identification of other analogues was hardly related to diet, so it could be the result of other potential exposure sources, such as personal care products (PCPs) or air inhalation. After 2 days, the excretion of BPA was considerably higher in the canned-diet group subjects than those in the control group (7.02 vs. 1.89 µg/day), confirming that diet and canned foodstuffs are the main route of exposure to BPA. Anyhow, the temporary tolerable daily intake (t-TDI) established by the EFSA was not exceeded, even by those consumers with a diet rich in canned food. Moreover, spot urine samples provided accurate information about exposure and excretion of BPA, being the 4 h, instead of 24 h, the optimal sampling interval, when the collection of spot urine samples is not possible.

Corn Flour Intake, Aflatoxin B1 Exposure, and Risk of Esophageal Precancerous Lesions in a High-Risk Area of Huai'an, China: A Case-Control Study.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), which has potent toxicity and carcinogenicity, is a common contaminant of important agricultural commodities. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of corn flour intake and assess the exposure to AFB1 via direct detection of AFB1 in the diet and serum AFB1 exposure biomarker, so as to evaluate their associations with the risk of esophageal precancerous lesions (EPL). A case-control study based on three-day duplicate diet samples was performed in Huai'an District. One hundred EPL cases and 100 healthy controls were enrolled and required to be age- (±2 years) and gender-matched. The concentration of AFB1 in food samples and the level of serum AFB1-albumin (AFB1-Alb) adduct were quantitatively analyzed. Results showed that corn flour intake was positively associated with serum AFB1-Alb adduct level (p for trend = 0.003), dietary AFB1 exposure (p for trend < 0.001), and the risk of EPL (p for trend = 0.017). Increased serum AFB1-Alb adduct level was associated with an increased risk of EPL as well (p for trend < 0.001). In conclusion, corn flour may be an essential source of AFB1 in Huai'an District, whereas high exposure to AFB1 is likely to be an important risk factor contributing to the progression of EPL.

Dietary exposure assessment of a nursing mother-infant cohort to legacy and novel brominated flame retardants: Results of a 3-day duplicate diet study in Beijing, China.

In a 3-day duplicate diet study of a nursing mother-infant cohort (n = 20), the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), and 5 novel brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were measured in 60 24-h duplicate diet samples and 20 breast milk samples provided by the mothers. The dietary BFR intake and related health risks of the mothers and their babies due to food consumption or human milk ingestion were subsequently assessed. At median concentrations of 284, 264 and 177 pg/g wet weight (ww) in the diet, decabrominated diphenyl ethers (BDE-209), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and HBCDD were predominant among the total BFRs. In human milk, HBCDD was the most abundant BFR, followed by BDE-209 and DBDPE, which indicates that BDE-209 and HBCDD have remained ubiquitous in the environment because of their continuous production and use in China. Meanwhile, concentrations of DBDPE were comparative to those of PBDEs and HBCDD in both diet and human milk, and DBDPE also had much higher concentrations than any other NBFRs, which indicates that the BFR consumption pattern in China is shifting from legacy BFRs to NBFRs. The median estimated dietary intakes (EDIs) of BDE-209, HBCDD and DBDPE for the mothers were 6.83, 3.73 and 5.44 ng/kg bw/day, respectively, and EDIs for their nursing babies were 24.7, 41.9 and 7.83 ng/kg bw/day, respectively. The nursing infants showed higher BFR body burden than the mothers. However, the EDIs obtained for both mothers and their babies discloses a low health risk to this mother-infant cohort.

Brazilian preschool children attending day care centers show an inadequate micronutrient intake through 24-h duplicate diet.

Inadequate micronutrient intake in childhood harms growth and development, and it is related to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to evaluate the dietary intake and prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake in preschool children (1-4 years old) attending two-day care centers. To assess children's dietary micronutrient intake, 24-h duplicate diets (n = 64) were collected for one week-day, including everything the children ate and drank both at home and in kindergarten. Anthropometric measurements were carried out to evaluate the children's nutritional status. The micronutrients copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium, sodium, and manganese were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Calcium and selenium were found with high inadequate intake rates: 50% and 42%, respectively, for children aged 1-3 years old, and 93% and 90% for children aged 4 years. Potassium was consumed in very low amounts, 13% and 5% of children aged 1-3 and 4 years old, respectively, achieved the adequate intake for the nutrient. Sodium intakes were excessive: 23% of the 1-3-year old and 42% of the 4-year-old children, respectively, had an intake higher than the tolerable upper levels. Regarding the nutritional status, overweight and obesity prevalence was 17%. Therefore, considering the damaging health effects for children of micronutrient deficiency and overweight and obesity status, it is necessary that government authorities be aware and update public policies and educational programs in order to promote healthy eating habits in early childhood.

Dietary exposure to acrylamide in a group of Japanese adults based on 24-hour duplicate diet samples.

Acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen and known human neurotoxin that can be generated in food through heating. Using a mathematical modelling approach, our previous study estimated long-term average dietary exposure to acrylamide in the Japanese people; however, the validity of these estimates remained unknown. Here, we aimed to obtain a more accurate estimate of acrylamide exposure that would reflect the usual practice of heat processing and consumption of foods in the population. We collected duplicate diet samples and dietary records during 24 h from a group of Japanese adults. A total of 110 duplicate diet samples were analysed for acrylamide by LC-MS/MS. Data from individual dietary records were used to examine the association between dietary acrylamide exposure and consumption of selected food groups (e.g., coffee, tea, confectioneries, and vegetables prepared at high temperature [deep-frying, stir-frying, sautéing, and baking]). Of the 110 homogenised diet samples, 108 contained detectable levels of acrylamide. Dietary exposure to acrylamide ranged from 8 to 1582 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day, with the mean value of 215 ng/kg-bw/day and median value of 143 ng/kg-bw/day. This mean value was higher than the value we previously estimated for Japanese adults using a mathematical approach. Multiple linear regression analysis showed log dietary acrylamide exposure was significantly associated with consumption of coffee and vegetables prepared at high temperature during 24-hr of sampling (adj. R2 = 0.250, p < 0.001). We revealed significant difference in dietary acrylamide exposure between participants who had coffee and vegetables prepared at high temperature (median, 169 ng/kg-bw/day; range, 35-1224 ng/kg-bw/day, n = 42) and those who had none of them (median, 75 ng/kg-bw/day; range, 8-311 ng/kg-bw/day, n = 15) (Steel-Dwass test, p < 0.05).

Determination of dietary nitrite in patients with esophageal pre-cancerous lesion and normal people: a duplicate diet study.

The goal of this study was to find the relationship between dietary nitrite and risk of esophageal cancer, and determine the amount of nitrite intake to establish the oral highest daily intake to prevent the occurrence of esophageal cancer. Duplicate portions of three-consecutive-day diets were collected from 100 patients with esophageal precancerous lesions and 100 controls. The average nitrite daily intakes for esophageal precancerous lesions and normal people were 15.72 mg/d and 11.11 mg/d. The median nitrite daily intakes for cases and controls were 8.76 mg/d and 5.33 mg/d. Positive association was observed between the risk of esophageal precancerous lesions and dietary nitrite intake (p = 0.035). An increased risk of esophageal precancerous lesions was observed for cases or controls in the highest intake quartile of nitrite (highest vs. lowest quartile odds ratio (OR) = 2.256, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.012-5.026). These results suggest that dietary nitrite intake may influence the risk of esophageal cancer; populations with high incidence of esophageal cancer should take control of nitrite intake as one of the measures to prevent esophageal cancer.

School meals' centesimal and mineral composition and their nutritional value for Brazilian children.

The assessment of meals served under the Brazilian National School Meal Program (PNAE) is an important tool to verify its adequacy to the proposed parameters and the nutritional needs of school-aged children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the centesimal and mineral composition of the meals offered by the program and adequacy to the nutritional recommendations in three municipalities of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Centesimal composition of meals was determined according to the reference guidelines and mineral composition was analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Non-parametric analysis of variance was used to test the differences of the medians among the municipalities and Student-t test to compare the means between the two sampling periods. There were inadequacies in the carbohydrate, lipid and protein contents, and none of the municipalities reached the recommendation of 20%. Mineral concentration, especially Fe, Se, Cu and K were much lower than expected. Sodium levels were three-folds higher than the recommended, being worrisome due to higher risk of elevated blood pressure. There were inadequacies with regard to the PNAE guidelines, and there is a need to reevaluate the meals that are being offered to better meet childrens needs and to form healthy habits from childhood.

The contribution of alliaceous and cruciferous vegetables to dietary sulphur intake.

Despite its importance in many areas of human metabolism, there are no recommended daily intake guide lines for sulphur. It is generally assumed that most dietary sulphur originates from intake of methionine and cysteine. We estimated sulphur intake from food diaries, and validated the results with the use of a duplicate diet analyses. Sulphur intake estimations were highly correlated with that obtain through an elemental analysis of duplicate diets, with a mean±sd daily intakes of 956±327.9mg estimated from diet diary analyses and 935±329.9mg estimated by a duplicate diet analyses. Sulphur intake from alliaceous and cruciferous vegetables contributed up to 42% of total sulphur intake. Daily intake estimation comparisons through diet diary analyses and duplicate diet for other elements showed good agreement, except for sodium and zinc, in which analyses of 24h diet dairies overestimated intake by 35% and 52%, respectively.

Biomarker monitoring of controlled dietary acrylamide exposure indicates consistent human endogenous background.

The aim of the present study was to explore the relation of controlled dietary acrylamide (AA) intake with the excretion of AA-related urinary mercapturic acids (MA), N-acetyl-S-(carbamoylethyl)-L-cysteine (AAMA) and N-acetyl-S-(1-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine (GAMA). Excretion kinetics of these short-term exposure biomarkers were monitored under strictly controlled conditions within a duplicate diet human intervention study. One study arm (group A, n = 6) ingested AA via coffee (0.15-0.17 µg/kg bw) on day 6 and in a meal containing an upper exposure level of AA (14.1-15.9 µg/kg bw) on day 10. The other arm (group B) was on AA minimized diet (washout, 0.05-0.06 µg/kg bw) throughout the whole 13-day study period. On day 6, these volunteers ingested 13C3D3-AA (1 µg/kg bw). In both arms, urinary MA excretion was continuously monitored and blood samples were taken to determine hemoglobin adducts. Ingestion of four cups of coffee resulted in a slightly enhanced short-term biomarker response within the background range of group B. At the end of the 13-day washout period, group B excreted an AAMA baseline level of 0.14 ± 0.10 µmol/d although AA intake was only about 0.06 µmol/d. This sustained over-proportional AAMA background suggested an endogenous AA baseline exposure level of 0.3-0.4 µg/kg bw/d. The excretion of 13C3D3-AA was practically complete within 72-96 h which rules out delayed release of AA (or any other MA precursor) from deep body compartments. The results provide compelling support for the hypothesis of a sustained endogenous AA formation in the human body.

Assessment of dietary exposure to organohalogen contaminants, legacy and emerging flame retardants in a Norwegian cohort.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), emerging halogenated flame retardants (EHFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs) were detected in 24h duplicate diet samples from a Norwegian cohort (n=61), with concentrations ranging from