In vivo tibia lead measurements of 20 non-occupationally exposed and 190 occupationally exposed people drawn from three factories were made using a non-invasive x ray fluorescence technique in which characteristic x rays from lead are excited by gamma rays from a cadmium-109 source. The maximum skin dose to a small region of the shin was 0-45 mSv. The relation between tibia lead and blood lead was weak in workers from one factory (r = 0 11, p > 0.6) and among the non-occupationally exposed subjects (r = 0 07, p > 0 7); however, a stronger relation was observed in the other two factories (r = 0 45, p < 0 0001 and r = 0 53, p < 0-0001). Correlation coefficients between tibia lead and duration of employment were consistently higher at all three factories respectively (r = 0-86, p < 0-0001; r = 0-61, p < 0-0001; r = 0 80, p < 0 0001). A strong relation was observed between tibia lead and a simple, time integrated, blood lead index among workers from the two factories from which blood lead histories were available. The regression equation from two groups of workers (n = 88, 79) did not significantly differ despite different exposure conditions. The correlation coefficient for the combined data set (n = 167) was 0-84 (p < 0-0001). This shows clearly that tibia lead, measured in vivo by x ray fluorescence, provides a good indicator of long term exposure to lead as assessed by a cumulative blood lead index.As a consequence of the well established toxicity of lead, workers occupationally exposed to it in the United Kingdom and other industrialised countries are subjected to regular monitoring of blood lead concentrations. In In vivo tibia lead measurements as an index ofcumulative exposure in occupationally exposed subjects is relatively stable, as with the tibia, it is feasible to normalise per mass of wet bone. The relation between wet bone mass and bone mineral in trabecular bone, however, is less well defined and changes with, among other things, age, particularly in women. Because our technique normalises to the gamma rays coherently scattered from both calcium and phosphorus, the most logical normalisation is therefore to the bone mineral mass. This is equivalent to quoting the lead content per mass of bone ash, a unit that is widely used for in vitro analysis. A possible alternative, particularly for those making biopsy measurements using atomic absorption spectrometry, is to normalise to the calcium content: however, the relation between the two procedures is readily established assuming bone mineral to consist of calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(P04)6(OH)2). As our measurement programme is being extended to include trabecular bone we have therefore chosen to normalise to bone mineral mass throughout.x Ray fluorescence, which involves stimulation of characteristic x ray emission from the element of interest using a beam of photons, has been used by several groups to measure bone lead. The first to do so were Ahlgren and co-workers,45 who measured the lead K. x ray emission (at 75 0 and 72-8 keV for K., and...

Aims: To investigate the incidence of Campylobacter and Salmonella contamination associated with supermarket and butchers' shop chicken and related packaging. Method and Results: Three hundred raw samples (whole chicken, chicken breast with skin or chicken pieces) were purchased on a monthly basis for seven months. Packaging associated with the chicken was also sampled to provide isolation data for external and whole packaging. Campylobacter and Salmonella were isolated from 68% and 29% of retail chicken, respectively. Campylobacter was isolated from 3% of external and 34% of whole packaging overall. Salmonella was absent from external packaging but was isolated from 11% of whole packaging. No signi®cant trends in isolation rates of the organisms were obtained during the period of sampling.

Fruit and vegetables make an important contribution to health, partly due to the composition of phytonutrients, such as carotenoids and polyphenols. The aim of the present study was to quantify the intake of fruit and vegetables across different European countries using food consumption data of increasing complexity: food balance sheets (FBS); the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive Database; individual food consumption data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Across Europe, the average consumption of fruit and vegetables ranged from 192 to 824 g/d (FBS data). Based on EFSA data, nine out of fourteen countries consumed < 400 g/d (recommended by the WHO), although even in the highest-consuming countries such as Spain, 36 % did not reach the target intake. In the UK, the average consumption of fruit and vegetables was 310 g/d (NDNS data). Generally, phytonutrient intake increased in accordance with fruit and vegetable intake across all European countries with the exception of lycopene (from tomatoes), which appeared to be higher in some countries that consumed less fruit and vegetables. There were little differences in the average intake of flavanols, flavonols and lycopene in those who did or did not meet the 400 g/d recommendation in the UK. However, average intakes of carotenoid, flavanone, anthocyanidin and ellagic acid were higher in those who consumed >400 g/d of fruit and vegetables compared with those who did not. Overall, intakes of phytonutrients are highly variable, suggesting that while some individuals obtain healthful amounts, there may be others who do not gain all the potential benefits associated with phytonutrients in the diet.

The aim of this study was to assess the dietary exposure of 13 priority additives in four European countries (France, Italy, the UK and Ireland) using the Flavourings, Additives and Contact Materials Exposure Task (FACET) software. The studied additives were benzoates (E210-213), nitrites (E249-250) and sulphites (E220-228), butylated hydroxytoluene (E321), polysorbates (E432-436), sucroses esters and sucroglycerides (E473-474), polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (E475), stearoyl-lactylates (E481-482), sorbitan esters (E493-494 and E491-495), phosphates (E338-343/E450-452), aspartame (E951) and acesulfame (E950). A conservative approach (based on individual consumption data combined with maximum permitted levels (Tier 2)) was compared with more refined estimates (using a fitted distribution of concentrations based on data provided by the food industry (Tier 3)). These calculations demonstrated that the estimated intake is below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for nine of the studied additives. However, there was a potential theoretical exceedance of the ADI observed for four additives at Tier 3 for high consumers (97.5th percentile) among children: E220-228 in the UK and Ireland, E432-436 and E481-482 in Ireland, Italy and the UK, and E493-494 in all countries. The mean intake of E493-494 could potentially exceed the ADI for one age group of children (aged 1-4 years) in the UK. For adults, high consumers only in all countries had a potential intake higher than the ADI for E493-494 at Tier 3 (an additive mainly found in bakery wares). All other additives examined had an intake below the ADI. Further refined exposure assessments may be warranted to provide a more in-depth investigation for those additives that exceeded the ADIs in this paper. This refinement may be undertaken by the introduction of additive occurrence data, which take into account the actual presence of these additives in the different food groups.

No abstract

Background: Intakes of glutamate can be derived from its natural occurrence as a constituent of proteins, from the presence of free glutamate in certain fermented foods, and from the addition of glutamic acid and glutamates to foods as flavor-enhancing additives. Summary: Intakes of glutamate following hydrolysis of dietary proteins can be as high as 440 mg/kg bw/day for toddlers and small children. High-level intakes of glutamate from its natural occurrence  in foods or from the use of food additives, given very conservative assumptions about conditions of use, are ­similar at around 80 mg/kg bw/day for toddlers and small children. Key Messages: The use of glutamic acid and glutamates as food additives makes a marginal contribution to total intakes of glutamate from all sources.

No abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the major diseases of our times. Besides being a considerable inconvenience for the patient, the associated healthcare expenses are tremendous. One of the cornerstones of T2DM prevention is a healthy diet, including a variety of fruits and vegetables. Apples are touted to have health benefits, and the apple polyphenol, phloridzin, has gained interest in recent years as it can reduce intestinal sugar uptake by inhibition of the Na/glucose cotransporter 1. By researching the amount of phloridzin in different food sources and linking them to their consumption data, we could estimate the average and high-level phloridzin consumption in Europe. On average, European people consume 0·7–7·5 mg/d phloridzin, the main contributors being apples and apple juice. High-level consumers may get up to 52 mg/d of phloridzin. Older people are more at risk of developing T2DM, yet they consume less phloridzin than adolescents and adults, as determined by our survey. Management of blood glucose levels might be improved by the consumption of phloridzin, as has been shown in recent clinical trials; these trials used phloridzin-enriched apple extract at doses exceeding those from normal food consumption. There are, however, indications that consumption of average to high levels of phloridzin via food might also contribute to reduced sugar load and a reduction in T2DM risk.