Dietary intake and risk assessment of elements for 1- and 2-year-old children in the Netherlands.

In 2017, a total diet study (TDS) was conducted in the Netherlands to determine the intake of elements by 1- and 2-year-old children. Concentrations of 47 elements were analysed and long-term dietary intake was calculated for 24 elements. The 95th percentile (P95) intake estimates were compared with a tolerable daily or weekly intake (TDI or TWI) or tolerable upper intake level (UL), or a margin of exposure (MOE) was calculated. The P95 intake of cadmium and zinc exceeded the TWI or UL, respectively, and the P95 intake of inorganic arsenic and lead resulted in low MOEs. Food subgroups contributing most to the intake were "potatoes" for cadmium, "milk and milk-based beverages" for zinc, "concentrated fruit juices" and "rice" for inorganic arsenic, and "candies" for lead. For inorganic mercury, it could not be established if the intake was (too) high. P95 intake estimates of the other elements for which a risk characterisation could be performed were below the health-based guidance values. It was noted that the P50 intake estimate of manganese was a factor of 3 higher than the adequate intake level. Due to the absence of a UL, it is not clear if this intake is of concern.

Detection of gluten in duplicate portions to determine gluten intake of coeliac disease patients on a gluten-free diet.

This study determined the gluten content of foods and meals consumed by coeliac disease (CD) patients who adhere to a gluten-free diet, and to estimate the total daily intake of gluten of these patients. CD patients fulfilling defined inclusion criteria were preselected and approached for participation in the study. Duplicate portions (DP) of foods and mixed dishes were collected from the CD patients for evaluating complete daily food intake during two individual days. Also, for these days, written food records were completed by the participants. From each DP, a laboratory sample was prepared and analysed for its gluten concentration and total daily gluten intake was calculated. Each individual's total daily intakes of energy and macronutrients were calculated using the Dutch food composition database. In total, twenty-seven CD patients participated, seven males and twenty females, aged between 21 and 64 years. In thirty-two (6 %) of 499 food samples collected in total, more than 3 mg/kg gluten was present. In four of these thirty-two samples, the gluten concentration was above the European legal limit of 20 mg/kg and three of the four samples had a gluten-free label. The maximal gluten intake was 3·3 mg gluten/d. The gluten tolerance for sensitive CD patients (>0·75 mg/d) was exceeded on at least six out of fifty-four study days. To also protect these sensitive CD patients, legal thresholds should be re-evaluated and the detection limit of analytical methods for gluten analysis lowered.

Bioavailability of folic acid from fortified pasteurised and UHT-treated milk in humans.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether milk fortified with folic acid enhances the folate status of humans and whether the presence of folate-binding proteins (FBP) in pasteurised milk affects the bioavailability of folic acid from fortified milk. In untreated and pasteurised milk, folate occurs bound to FBP, while FBP is (partly) denatured in ultra-high-temperature (UHT)-treated milk. The effect of FBP on folate bioavailability is still unclear. DESIGN, SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Healthy, free-living subjects (n=69) aged 18-49 y participated in a 4-week double-blind, placebo-controlled dietary intervention study. INTERVENTION: In addition to a fully controlled diet, the subjects consumed each day 500 ml of pasteurised or UHT milk, either fortified or not with 200 mug folic acid. RESULTS: Consumption of fortified milk increased folate concentrations in serum and in red blood cells (RBC) by 6.6-7.0 nmol/l (P<0.001) and 32-36 nmol/l (P<0.01), respectively. Similarly, plasma homocysteine concentrations were lowered 0.88-0.89 micromol/l (P=0.001) in subjects who consumed fortified milk. The bioavailability of folic acid from pasteurised milk relative to that of folic acid from UHT milk was 74-94% (NS), depending on the parameter used. CONCLUSIONS: Milk fortified to supply an additional 200 microg of folic acid/s substantially increased folate status, and decreased plasma total homocysteine concentrations in young, healthy subjects. Milk is therefore a suitable matrix for fortification to enhance the folate status in humans. No significant effect of endogenous FBP was found on the bioavailability of folic acid from milk.

Antioxidant properties of differently processed spinach products.

The effect of variously processed spinach products (whole-leaf, minced and enzymatically liquefied spinach) on lipid oxidation was determined. In an autoxidative methyl linoleate (MeLo) system the inhibition of hydroperoxide formation, measured by HPLC after three days of oxidation, was in descending order: whole-leaf > liquefied > minced spinach. The inhibition of formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and hexanal by spinach was determined in cooked meatballs with added spinach after two days of storage at 4 degrees C. The formation of TBARS was inhibited by liquefied spinach at 200 g/kg meat; all other spinach products tested at 100 and 200 g/kg were pro-oxidative. The formation of hexanal was inhibited by both minced and liquefied spinach at 100 and 200 g/kg meat. The variously processed spinach products behaved differently when tested for their antioxidant activity (MeLo) or oxidative stability (meatballs). We conclude that the effect of spinach products on lipid oxidation is affected by processing.