Fluoride Analysis of Foods for Infants and Estimation of Daily Fluoride Intake

Abstract

The mean daily fluoride intake in infants was estimated on the basis of their intake of commercial foods for infants in Japan and evaluated in order to establish the effectiveness and safety criteria for water fluoridation, which is practiced as a preventive measure for dental caries suitable in life stages from children to the elderly. Based upon the intakes of foods for infants, the mean daily fluoride intake was estimated to be 0.166 mg in infants aged 3-4 months, 0.202 mg in those aged 5-6 months, and 0.266 mg in those aged 7-8 months. The mean daily fluoride intake per kg of body weight at these ages was in the range of 0.023-0.029 mg/kg, which was about half of the standard daily fluoride intake for infants and children advocated by Ophaug et al., as 0.05-0.07 mg/kg.From our results, the daily fluoride intake of infants from foods in Japan is estimated to be equivalent to or lower than the values of previous reports in non-fluoridated areas. Consequently, our data support the argument that water fluoridation and the appropriate use of fluoride for dental caries prevention in Japan are needed on the basis of scientific criteria in terms of fluoride exposure related to food intake during tooth formation.

Fluoride Intake of Japanese Infants from Infant Milk Formula

“…In reference to the AI and UL of other regions, since the AI and UL have not been established in Japan, the results of this study suggested that the F intake of infants in Japan was unlikely to exceed the UL or reach even the AI. This supports the results of previous studies which have reported that F intake from solid foods and beverages in Japanese children aged 3 months to 8 years were less than 0.05 mg F/kg bw/day [Nishijima et al, 1993;Kimura et al, 2001;Murakami et al, 2002;Tomori et al, 2004;Nohno et al, 2006], and indicates that the F intake of infants at, and after, weaning age is unlikely to exceed the AI.…”

“…Lactose-free milk is for infants with lactose intolerance. Two previous studies on measuring IMF in Japan reported the F content of powdered unreconstituted products to be 0.53-1.33 g/g [Nishijima et al, 1993] and 0.30-1.00 g/g [Tomori et al, 2004]. The products measured in these two reports were almost similar, but the present study included only one similar product to those measured previously.…”

“…Almost 6 in 10 mothers (58%) finished milk feeding by 12 months, and by 18 months this proportion had risen to 96% [Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, 2005c]. Tomori et al [2004], in a study of the estimation of daily F intake in Japan, reported that the proportions of total daily F represented by F intake from infant milk in infants aged 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 months were 88.0, 55.4 and 44.4%, respectively. In contrast, in the US, Singer and Ophaug [1979] reported the proportions at 2, 4 and 6 months to be 77, 64 and 59%, respectively.…”

“…Additionally, changes in nutrition and increasing use of commercially available products have required the re-evaluation of F exposure in every country. Previous studies have reported F concentration of IMF in Japan [Nishijima et al, 1993;Tomori et al, 2004]; however, these data are no longer current. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the F concentration of all IMF available for purchase in Japan and estimate the F exposure of infants whose primary source of nutrition is IMF reconstituted with water.…”

Fluoride content of Ready‐to‐Feed (RTF) infant food and drinks in the UK

“…More recently, Tomori et al. (32) analysed 68 samples of commercial infant foods and drinks in Japan, 19 (16 foods, three drinks) of which were RTF products. Of these ‘retort‐packed’ products, the F concentrations ranged from 0.14 to 0.18 μg/g for fruit juices, 0.04–0.56 μg/g for vegetables, 0.02–0.18 μg/g for meat & fish and 0.06–0.44 μg/g for cereals.…”