Establishing a food list for a Total Diet Study: how does food consumption of specific subpopulations need to be considered?

A Total Diet Study (TDS) consists of selecting, collecting and analysing commonly consumed foods to obtain concentration data of different chemical compounds in foods as eaten. A TDS food list summarises the most consumed foods and represents the dietary habits of the general population of the country under study. The work reported here investigated whether TDS food lists that were initially designed for the whole population of the country under study also sufficiently cover the dietary pattern of specific subpopulations that are extra vulnerable for certain contaminants. The work was performed using data of three European countries: the Czech Republic, France and the UK. Each national food consumption database was combined with the corresponding national TDS food list (containing 336, 212 and 119 food items for the Czech Republic, France and the UK, respectively). The data were aggregated on the highest level of hierarchy of FoodEx-1, a pan-European food classification system, including 20 main FoodEx-1 groups. For the group 'milk and dairy products', the coverage of the consumption by the food list was investigated for more refined subgroups. For each food group or subgroup and country, the average percentage of coverage of the diet by the national TDS food list was calculated for different subpopulations, including children versus adults, women versus men, vegetarians versus non-vegetarians, and women of child-bearing age versus older women. The average diet of the different subpopulations was sufficiently covered by the food list of the Czech Republic and France. For the UK the average coverage was low due to a different food-coding approach and because food lists were not derived directly from national food consumption data. At the level of the 20 main food groups, differences between the subpopulations with respect to the average coverage of consumption by the TDS food list were minimal. The differences were more pronounced when looking in detail at the coverage of the dairy consumption. TDS food lists based on the mean consumption of the general population are also applicable to study the chemical exposure of different subpopulations, e.g. children, women of child-bearing age and vegetarians. This lowers the effort when performing a TDS.

Biomarker-based evaluation of two 24-h recalls for comparing usual fish, fruit and vegetable intakes across European centers in the EFCOVAL Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A standardized methodology is important to enable consistent monitoring of dietary intake across European countries. For this reason, we evaluated the comparability of the assessment of usual food intake collected with two non-consecutive computerized 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) and a food propensity questionnaire (FPQ) among five European centers. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two 24-HDRs using EPIC-Soft (the software developed to conduct 24-HDRs in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study) were performed to determine fish, fruit and vegetable (FV) consumed by 600 adults in Belgium (BE), the Czech Republic (CZ), France (FR), the Netherlands (NL) and Norway (NO) in a validation study. An FPQ was used to identify non-consumers. Information from the 24-HDRs and FPQ were used to estimate individual usual food intake by the Multiple Source Method (MSM). Blood samples were drawn to determine fatty acids in phospholipids and serum carotenoids as biomarkers of fish, and FV intake, respectively. RESULTS: The pooled correlation between usual fish intake and eicosapentaenoic acid plus docosahexaenoic acid in phospholipids was 0.19 in men and 0.31 in women (P for heterogeneity >0.50) and center-specific correlations ranged between 0.08 (CZ) and 0.28 (BE and NO) in men, and between 0.19 (BE) and 0.55 (FR) in women. For usual FV intake, the pooled correlation with serum carotenoids was 0.31 in men and 0.40 in women (P for heterogeneity >0.10); the center-specific correlations varied between 0.07 (NO) and 0.52 (FR) in men, and between 0.25 (NL) and 0.45 (NO) in women. CONCLUSION: Two standardized 24-HDRs using EPIC-Soft and an FPQ appeared to be appropriate to rank individuals according to their fish and FV intake in a comparable way among five European centers.

Potential and requirements for a standardized pan-European food consumption survey using the EPIC-Soft software.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To describe the strengths, limitations and requirements of using EPIC-Soft software (the software developed to conduct 24-h dietary recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study) in pan-European food consumption surveys, and to discuss potentials and barriers for a harmonized pan-European food consumption survey. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The paper is based on the experiences in the 'European Food Consumption and Validation' Project, which included updating six existing and preparing one new country-specific EPIC-Soft version, applying EPIC-Soft in validation and feasibility studies, and estimating the intake of nutrients and flavoring substances. The experiences were discussed in the September 2009 workshop 'Pan-European Food Consumption Surveys--for Standardized and Comparable Transnational Data Collection'. RESULTS: EPIC-Soft is suitable for detailed and standardized food consumption data collection in pan-European food consumption surveys. A thorough preparation of all aspects of the food consumption survey is important for the quality and efficiency during data collection and processing. The preparation and data-handling phase of working with EPIC-Soft is labor intensive and requires trained, motivated and qualified personnel. CONCLUSIONS: Given the suitability of EPIC-Soft as standardized dietary assessment tool in European dietary monitoring, the proposed strategy toward a pan-European food consumption survey is to prepare well, to allow flexibility in national extensions and to start with a limited number of countries that are interested.

The development of food consumption in the Czech Republic after 1989.

OBJECTIVE: To define the average food consumption per capita in the Czech population and to investigate food consumption development during the years of economic transition. DESIGN: Three studies based on the household budget survey (HBS) were conducted in the 1990s. The primary data originated from so-called diaries of reporting households loaned out from the Czech Statistical Office (CSO). The arranging of representative samples has been done and is guaranteed by the CSO. Complementary inquiry was conducted to supplement the HBS data. The average consumption of basic food groups is presented. SETTING: All regions of the Czech Republic. SUBJECTS: The primary data came from the years 1991, 1994 and 1997. The basic sample representing the Czech population included 420 households and was arranged with regard to the region, size and socio-economic type of households. RESULTS: The changes in food consumption during the 1990s were reflected, above all, in meat, milk and dairy products, added fats, fruit and beverages. The consumption of poultry meat, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables has increased. The proportion of added fats has changed in favour of vegetable fats. On the other hand, a negative feature may be the permanent reduction in milk consumption. CONCLUSION: Most of the changes in eating patterns that appeared in the Czech population after 1989 can be interpreted as positive ones.