Development of harmonised food and sample lists for total diet studies in five European countries

Abstract

A total diet study (TDS) is a public health tool for determination of population dietary exposure to chemicals across the entire diet. TDSs have been performed in several countries but the comparability of data produced is limited. Harmonisation of the TDS methodology is therefore desirable and the development of comparable TDS food lists is considered essential to achieve the consistency between countries. The aim of this study is to develop and test the feasibility of a method for establishing harmonised TDS food and sample lists in five European countries with different consumption patterns (Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Iceland and Portugal). The food lists were intended to be applicable for exposure assessment of wide range of chemical substances in adults (18-64 years) and the elderly (65-74 years). Food consumption data from recent dietary surveys measured on individuals served as the basis for this work. Since the national data from these five countries were not comparable, all foods were linked to the EFSA FoodEx2 classification and description system. The selection of foods for TDS was based on the weight of food consumed and was carried out separately for each FoodEx2 level 1 food group. Individual food approach was respected as much as possible when the TDS samples were defined. TDS food lists developed with this approach represented 94.7-98.7% of the national total diet weights. The overall number of TDS samples varied from 128 in Finland to 246 in Germany. The suggested method was successfully implemented in all five countries. Mapping of data to the EFSA FoodEx2 coding system was recognised as a crucial step in harmonisation of the developed TDS food lists.

Dietary Manganese Exposure in the Adult Population in Germany—What Does it Mean in Relation to Health Risks?

“…Occurrence data on manganese in foods presented in this article are based on the German pilot total diet study (TDS) conducted within the European “Total Diet Study Exposure” (TDS‐Exposure) project (http://www.tds-exposure.eu). A food list covering 95% of the consumption of the population in Germany was established based on the National Consumption Survey II (NVS II), as previously described in Dofkova et al . Selection criteria for foods were a) being part of 90% of consumption or b) being a significant contributor to dietary exposure regarding considered elements.…”

Effect of season and proximate composition on the Br, As, Cd and Pb contents in different kinds of key foods consumed in Portugal

“…The selection and collection of food require a rational sampling plan supported by consumption data (FAO, ). In order to obtain harmonised dietary exposure data between five European countries, a methodology was developed for establishing harmonised national TDS food lists and to test the feasibility of the proposed procedures in order to have comparable formats of food consumption data (Dofkova et al , ).…”

“…Detailed taxonomical information is given in Table . It should also be noted that samples were selected in order to generate a representative collection (Dofkova et al , ) of the most frequently consumed foods in Portugal. Samples were purchased at representative supermarkets of the Lisbon metropolitan area.…”

“…The edible part of each food product was used. In the case of fish, all bones and scales were separated after culinary treatment, shells were eliminated in the case of bivalves, and fruits were peeled or not as indicated by the results of the national food survey, being pits always discarded (Dofkova et al , ). Samples were cooked if this corresponded to the usual form of consumption in Portugal.…”

“…After preparation, samples were mixed into pools of 12 samples of similar foods (Dofkova et al , ). It should be remarked that a pool could contain the same food prepared in various ways.…”