Xiaoyu Bi

Estimated long-term fish and shellfish intake—national health and nutrition examination survey

Usual intake estimates describe long-term average intake of food and nutrients and food contaminants. The frequencies of fish and shellfish intake over a 30-day period from National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2006) were combined with 24-h dietary recall data from NHANES 2003–2004 using a Monte Carlo procedure to estimate the usual intake of fish and shellfish in this study. Usual intakes were estimated for the US population including children 1 to <11 years, males/females 11 to <16 years, 16 to <21 years, and adults 21+ years. Estimated mean fish intake (consumers only) was highest among children 1 to <2 years and 2 to <3 years, at 0.37 g/kg-day for both age groups, and lowest for females 11 to <16 years, at 0.13 g/kg-day. In all age groups, daily intake estimates were highest for breaded fish, salmon, and mackerel. Among children and teenage consumers, tuna, salmon, and breaded fish were the most frequently consumed fish; shrimp, scallops, and crabs were the most frequently consumed shellfish. The intake estimates from this study better reflect long-term average intake rates and are preferred to assess long-term intake of nutrients and possible exposure to environmental contaminants from fish and shellfish sources than 2-day average estimates.

Partitioning of Dietary Metal Intake—A Metal Dietary Exposure Screening Tool

Detection of heavy metals at trace or higher levels in foods and food ingredients is not unexpected given the widespread unavoidable presence of several metals in nature, coupled with advancement in analytical methods and lowering limits of detection. To assist risk managers with a rapid risk assessment when facing these situations, a metal dietary exposure screening tool (MDEST) was developed. The tool uses food intake rates based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2010 consumption data for the U.S. population two+ years and up and for infants age six months to <two years based on the Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, and existing exposure limits for several frequently detected metals (e.g., inorganic arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury). The tool has data entry fields for detected concentrations and includes algorithms that combine metal levels with consumption data to generate screening-level exposure estimates, which it then compares to MDEST assigned default portions of the exposure limits in the risk characterization module. As a screening-level tool, the risk assessment output is intentionally conservative, public health protective, and useful for a rapid assessment to set aside issues that are not of concern. Issues that cannot be readily resolved using this screening tool will need to be further evaluated with more refined input data that are tailored to the specific question or situation under consideration.

Estimated daily intake and safety of FD&C food-colour additives in the US population

ABSTRACT A refined exposure assessment was undertaken to calculate the estimated daily intake (EDI) of the seven FD&C straight-colour additives and five FD&C colour lakes (‘synthetic’ food colours) approved in the United States. The EDIs were calculated for the US population as a whole and specific age groups, including children aged 2–5 and 6–12 years, adolescents aged 13–18 years, and adults aged 19 or more y. Actual use data were collected from an industry survey of companies that are users of these colour additives in a variety of products, with additional input from food colour manufacturers. Food-consumption data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The assessment was further refined by adjusting the intake to more realistic scenarios based on the fraction of products containing colour within specific food categories using data provided by the Mintel International Group Ltd. The results of the analysis indicate that (1) the use levels reported by the industry are consistent with the concentrations measured analytically by the US Food and Drug Administration; and (2) exposure to food-colour additives in the United States by average and high-intake consumers is well below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of each colour additive as published by the Joint WHO/FAO Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and allows wide margins of safety. It is concluded that food colour use as currently practised in the United States is safe and does not result in excessive exposure to the population, even at conservative ranges of food consumption and levels of use.