Methodological characteristics of the national dietary surveys carried out in the European Union as included in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database

In 2009 competent organisations in the European Union provided the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with data from the most recent national dietary survey at the level of individuals' consumption. Twenty different Member States provided EFSA with data from 22 different national dietary surveys, with consumption figures for adults and, when available, for children. Member States' dietary data were assembled into the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. In this paper an overview of the methodologies and protocols employed in the different national dietary surveys is provided. Specifically, details about dietary assessment methods, interview administration, sampling design, portion size estimation, dietary software, evaluation of under-reporting and non-dietary information collected are described. This information is crucial to evaluate the level of accuracy of food consumption data and to anticipate and acknowledge the utmost important sources of heterogeneity of national databases included in the Comprehensive Database. The Comprehensive Database constitutes a unique resource for the estimation of consumption figures across the European Union and represents a useful tool to assess dietary exposure to hazardous substances and nutrient intake in Europe. Nevertheless, the many substantial methodological differences that characterise the Comprehensive Database are acknowledged and critically discussed.     

Methodological characteristics of the national dietary surveys carried out in the European Union as included in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database

In 2009 competent organisations in the European Union provided the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with data from the most recent national dietary survey at the level of individuals’ consumption. Twenty different Member States provided EFSA with data from 22 different national dietary surveys, with consumption figures for adults and, when available, for children. Member States’ dietary data were assembled into the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. In this paper an overview of the methodologies and protocols employed in the different national dietary surveys is provided. Specifically, details about dietary assessment methods, interview administration, sampling design, portion size estimation, dietary software, evaluation of under-reporting and non-dietary information collected are described. This information is crucial to evaluate the level of accuracy of food consumption data and to anticipate and acknowledge the utmost important sources of heterogeneity of national databases included in the Comprehensive Database. The Comprehensive Database constitutes a unique resource for the estimation of consumption figures across the European Union and represents a useful tool to assess dietary exposure to hazardous substances and nutrient intake in Europe. Nevertheless, the many substantial methodological differences that characterise the Comprehensive Database are acknowledged and critically discussed.     

Concentration of morpholine residues in major fruits and juices and its dietary exposure in China

Morpholine is a common chemical used as emulsifier in the preparation of wax coatings for some fruit to help them remain fresh and protect against insects and fungal contamination. It has been reported that morpholine has acute toxic effects on rodents. In the present study, morpholine concentrations were analysed in fruits (citrus fruits, apples, strawberries and grapes) and juices (apple juice and orange juice) in order to determine dietary exposure among the Chinese population. A total of 732 fruit and juice samples were collected during 2015–2016, which covered major foods in China. Fruit and juice consumption data were taken from China National Nutrient and Health Survey (2002) and include data from 16,407 fruit or juice consumers. It was found that mean dietary exposure to morpholine residues from fruits and/or juices for general Chinese consumers and children 2–6 years old were 0.42 and 1.24 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The 97.5% intake in general Chinese consumers and children 2–6 years old were 2.25 and 6.90 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The primary food sources of the morpholine dietary intake of general Chinese consumers were citrus fruits (57.4%) and apples (40.8%). These findings suggested that dietary exposure to morpholine in the Chinese population was lower than the acceptable daily intake of morpholine, and there are no health concerns.     

Statistical method to assess usual dietary intakes in the European population

Food consumption data are a key element of EFSA’s risk assessment activities, forming the basis of dietary exposure assessment at the European level. In 2011, EFSA released the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database, gathering consumption data from 34 national surveys representing 66,492 individuals from 22 European Union member states. Due to the different methodologies used, national survey data cannot be combined to generate European estimates of dietary exposure. This study was executed to assess how existing consumption data and the representativeness of dietary exposure and risk estimates at the European Union level can be improved by developing a ‘Compiled European Food Consumption Database’. To create the database, the usual intake distributions of 589 food items representing the total diet were estimated for 36 clusters composed of subjects belonging to the same age class, gender and having a similar diet. An adapted form of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) method was used for this, with a number of important modifications. Season, body weight and whether or not the food was consumed at the weekend were used to predict the probability of consumption. A gamma distribution was found to be more suitable for modelling the distribution of food amounts in the different food groups instead of a normal distribution. These distributions were combined with food correlation matrices according to the Iman–Conover method in order to simulate 28 days of consumption for 40,000 simulated individuals. The simulated data were validated by comparing the consumption statistics of the simulated individuals and food groups with the same statistics estimated from the Comprehensive Database. The opportunities and limitations of using the simulated database for exposure assessments are described.     

Food consumption data in microbiological risk assessment

The 1st International Conference on Microbiological Risk Assessment: Foodborne Hazards was held in July 2002. One of the goals of that conference was to evaluate the current status and future needs and directions of the science of microbial risk assessment. This article is based in part on a talk presented at that meeting. Here, we review the types of food consumption data available for use in microbial risk assessments and address their strengths and limitations. Consumption data available range from total population summary data derived from food production statistics to detailed information, derived from national food consumption surveys, about the types and amounts of food consumed at the individual level. Although population summary data are available for most countries, detailed data are available for a limited number of countries and may only be available in summary format. Despite the relatively large amount of detailed information collected by these national surveys, information crucial to microbial risk assessments, such as the specific types of foods, the eating patterns of susceptible populations, or an individual's propensity for consuming high-risk foods (e.g., eating undercooked hamburgers, raw shellfish, or temperature-abused foods), are not collected during these surveys.     

农药残留急性膳食风险评估研究进展

农药残留急性膳食风险评估直到最近才引起大家的关注。目前,JMPR研究国际范围农药急性膳食风险评估;美国、英国、荷兰、澳大利亚和新西兰也开始进行国家农药急性膳食风险评估。农药残留急性膳食风险是急性或短期接触毒性与农药残留急性膳食摄入量的函数。急性膳食风险评估包括设定急性毒性参考剂量、急性膳食摄入量评定和急性膳食风险描述。急性毒性参考剂量是根据现有的认知水平,在24h或少于24h的期间,人体摄入的食品或水中某物质对消费者不产生可察觉的健康危险的量,单位为毫克/公斤体重(mg/kgbw)。急性膳食接触量评估常用的方法有:定点或确定性方法和概率模型法。在确定性方法中选取食物的大部分人群消耗量和高残留量来计算膳食摄入量,为了解决混合样品中食品个体之间的残留差异,在计算中引入了变异因子。概率模型法是将食品中农药残留分布曲线与膳食摄入食品分布曲线进行整合得到农药膳食摄入量的分布曲线。目前最常用的是蒙特卡洛分析法。使用该方法需要收集个体在每天或每顿饭的食品膳食消耗数据和田间残留试验、市场残留检测数据以及关于加工、削皮、清洗、烹饪等行为对农药残留影响的研究数据。我国应该尽快建立健全膳食结构和农产品性状数据库,建立健全市场中农产品的农药残留数据库,并在高毒和中等毒性农药登记前,进行急性膳食风险评估,提高农药膳食摄入的安全性。首先应采用JMPR的确定性方法,然后再开发适合我国使用的概率模型法。     

Assessment of seasonality in exposure to dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs by using long-term food-consumption data

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance related to uncertainties in dietary exposure assessment, exposure assessment based on short-term food-consumption surveys, such as 24-h recalls or 2-day records, tend to overestimate long-term exposure because of the assumption that the dietary pattern will be similar day after day over a lifetime. The aim of this study was to make an assessment of dietary exposure to polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), also called 'dioxins' and 'dioxin-like PCBs', using long-term household purchase and consumption survey data collected by TNS-Secodip. Weekly purchases of the major dioxins and dl-PCB vector products of these contaminants were collected for 328 single-person households, who participated at TNS-Secodip consumption surveys from 2003 to 2005 and who were single-person households in order to estimate better their consumption. These data were combined with average contamination levels of food products. Weekly gross average exposure was estimated at 10.2 pg toxic equivalent (WHO TEQ) kg(-1) bw week(-1) (95% confidence interval [9.6, 10.9]). According to the typical shape of the distribution of individual weekly exposures, it is sensible to fit an exponential law to these data. The mean was therefore 12.1 pg WHO TEQ kg(-1) bw week(-1). This value is higher than the arithmetic mean because it better takes into account inter-individual variability. It was estimated that about 20% of persons in this sample were exceeding the current health-based guidance value mainly due to high consumption of seafood and/or dairy products. Thanks to long survey duration (3 years) and the weekly recording of food consumption, it was possible to demonstrate the actual seasonality of dietary exposure to dioxins and dl-PCBs with a maximum between March and September; similar seasonality is observable for fish consumption. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were adjusted to the time series and it was demonstrated that the number of times the upper limit of confidence intervals exceeds the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) is about 15 weeks per year on average. Finally, compared with the results obtained from data collected in the short-term surveys (1 week), this study does not suggest that short-term consumption surveys tend to overestimate the long-term exposure.     

Assessment of seasonality in exposure to dioxins,furans and dioxin-like PCBs by using long-term food-consumption data

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance related to uncertainties in dietary exposure assessment, exposure assessment based on short-term food-consumption surveys, such as 24-h recalls or 2-day records, tend to overestimate long-term exposure because of the assumption that the dietary pattern will be similar day after day over a lifetime. The aim of this study was to make an assessment of dietary exposure to polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), also called ‘dioxins’ and ‘dioxin-like PCBs’, using long-term household purchase and consumption survey data collected by TNS-Secodip. Weekly purchases of the major dioxins and dl-PCB vector products of these contaminants were collected for 328 single-person households, who participated at TNS-Secodip consumption surveys from 2003 to 2005 and who were single-person households in order to estimate better their consumption. These data were combined with average contamination levels of food products. Weekly gross average exposure was estimated at 10.2?pg toxic equivalent (WHO TEQ) kg^?1?bw?week^?1 (95% confidence interval [9.6, 10.9]). According to the typical shape of the distribution of individual weekly exposures, it is sensible to fit an exponential law to these data. The mean was therefore 12.1?pg WHO TEQ?kg^?1?bw?week^?1. This value is higher than the arithmetic mean because it better takes into account inter-individual variability. It was estimated that about 20% of persons in this sample were exceeding the current health-based guidance value mainly due to high consumption of seafood and/or dairy products. Thanks to long survey duration (3 years) and the weekly recording of food consumption, it was possible to demonstrate the actual seasonality of dietary exposure to dioxins and dl-PCBs with a maximum between March and September; similar seasonality is observable for fish consumption. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were adjusted to the time series and it was demonstrated that the number of times the upper limit of confidence intervals exceeds the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) is about 15 weeks per year on average. Finally, compared with the results obtained from data collected in the short-term surveys (1 week), this study does not suggest that short-term consumption surveys tend to overestimate the long-term exposure.     

Definition of the Mediterranean diet based on bioactive compounds

Antioxidant (polyphenols and carotenoids) and nonantioxidant (phytosterols) bioactive compounds and dietary fiber may have a significant role in health. The intake of these compounds is strongly linked with the high consumption of fruits, vegetables, and unrefined cereals. A whole-diet approach to these food constituents is intended to render the current definition of Mediterranean diet based on food consumption more comprehensive. The Mediterranean dietary pattern can be characterized by the following four essential dietary indicators: 1) Monounsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio (range: 1.6 to 2.0); 2) Intake of dietary fiber (41 to 62 g/person/day); 3) Antioxidant capacity of the whole diet (3500 to 5300 trolox equivalent/person/day); 4) Phytosterols intake (370 to 555 mg/person/day). The contribution of foods and beverages to these parameters is described. Spanish National Food Consumption Data for the years 2000 and 1964 were used to quantify the lowest and highest range values. The occurrence of these indicators in the Mediterranean diet has specific characteristics and there is sufficient scientific evidence to support the beneficial health effects.     

A practical application of probabilistic modelling in assessment of dietary exposure of fruit consumers to pesticide residues.

In 1996, studies on a range of organophosphate and carbamate pesticide residues in fruit that may be eaten as single items reported variability. The usual point estimate exposure model did not take account of the variation in residue levels between items or variation in consumption patterns of individual consumers. Using only the highest residue levels and consumption values for each of the multiple sources (different fruit) could lead to overestimates of residue intakes which would indicate higher than actual levels of risk. Probabilistic simulation was identified as a tool that could utilize all the available information from the variability studies and fruit consumption data collected from dietary surveys. The estimation of exposure of toddlers to carbaryl is shown as an example. The number of samples representing some combinations of fruit in the toddler dietary survey was particularly low and the validity of extrapolating from these was unknown. Therefore, consumption values were simulated using the data for frequency and amount eaten from the whole database. The data indicated that there were some weak positive associations between consumption levels of the different fruit. However, inclusion of correlated sampling in the model simulation was considered too conservative. The profiles of carbaryl residues in different retail batches differed. Therefore a model was constructed that differentiated between different residue profiles and sampled separate residue levels for each item assumed to be eaten. Two simpler models, both ignoring the effect of re-sampling from the same batch, were also used to estimate exposure. All three models were considered to give realistic views of the likely short-term intakes and the outputs were useful as an aid to decision-making in terms of necessary regulatory action.     

Fruit consumption and adiposity status in adults: A systematic review of current evidence

The aim of this review was to update current understanding of the potential association between fruit consumption and adiposity status in adult populations. Electronic databases were searched from January 1, 1997 to the search date of August 15, 2014, retrieving 4382 abstracts that were reviewed for eligibility: randomized controlled trial (RCT) or prospective cohort (PC), published in English, assessing the effect of whole fruit or fruit juice consumption on adiposity in healthy adult populations. Quality ratings for the 11 included RCTs were either positive (n = 2), neutral (n = 8), or negative (n = 1), while the six included PCs were either positive (n = 4) or neutral (n = 2). Consumption of whole fruit was found to contribute to a reduced risk for long-term weight gain in middle-aged adults. Experimental trials suggest this beneficial effect of whole fruit is mediated by a reduction in total energy intake. Fruit juice, however, had an opposing effect, promoting weight gain over the long term. This review reinforces national food-based dietary guidelines, encouraging the consumption of whole fruits and replacing fruit juices with plain water, as part of a broader set of dietary strategies to reduce total dietary energy intake in adult populations.     

Effects of refining predicted chronic dietary intakes of pesticide residues: a case study using glyphosate

A chronic consumer risk assessment based on a worst-case scenario, conducted as part of the European Union review leading to Annex I inclusion for glyphosate, was evaluated and refined. An extensive database of information on the effects of processing on the levels of glyphosate residues in food is available. This database together with refined consumption data from the UK's surveys of adults and toddlers and extensive monitoring data of glyphosate residues in mainly cereal products conducted in the UK were combined to examine the potential overestimates of dietary intakes that are predicted using the current regulatory methodology developed by the Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization and applied as part of the European Union regulatory process. Analysis focussed on the chronic exposure from treated cereals, the crop group contributing significantly to the dietary intake of glyphosate residues. A steep reduction of predicted intake was seen when progressively realistic measures of residues were incorporated into the models, giving a strong indication of the conservative nature of current regulatory procedures. Calculations using even the most unrefined methodology gave rise to intakes of up to 11% of the acceptable daily intake; this was reduced to 0.6% of the acceptable daily intake when justifiable refinements based on extensive monitoring data collected in the UK were made. Consumption data for processed foods abstracted from the UK Food Standard Agency's database were used to refine further the predicted dietary intakes as a result of residue reductions or concentration from processing. The current regulatory model used in the UK generally only has the potential to use a single value for consumption of a particular food. The Pesticides Safety Directorate model consistently predicted the highest intakes with the exception of intakes by adults using the supervised trials median residue and median monitoring data. This suggests that conservatism in the regulatory model exists particularly where specific processing factors cannot be applied to individual fractions of the diet.     

江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐暴露风险评估

目的评估江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐的暴露水平和潜在健康风险。方法利用2012—2016年江西省食品中山梨酸及其钾盐含量数据、2016年江西省居民食物消费量调查数据,采用简单分布评估法计算江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐的暴露水平,并进行健康风险评估。结果江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐每日平均暴露量及每日高暴露量(P95)分别为0.031和0.085 mg/kg BW,分别占暂定组每日允许摄入量(ADI,3 mg/kg BW)的1.03%和2.83%。西式糕点、大米制品、熟肉制品是江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐暴露的主要来源,贡献率达到总膳食暴露量的75%以上。如果严格执行GB 2760—2014《食品安全国家标准食品添加剂使用标准》中关于山梨酸及其钾盐限量规定,江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐每日平均暴露量和每日高暴露量分别下降25.7%～49.5%和14.5%～27.9%,西式糕点、果蔬汁类饮料、新型豆制品则成为膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐暴露的主要来源。结论目前江西省居民膳食中山梨酸及其钾盐暴露量对人群健康造成的风险较低,处于可接受水平,但仍有部分暴露来源于食品添加剂滥用,需要关注。     

Produce consumption in the United States: an analysis of consumption frequencies, serving sizes, processing forms, and high-consuming population subgroups for microbial risk assessments

A great variety of fruits and vegetables are available in the United States. These items are produced in various geographic regions by a diverse industry. Produce has been increasingly identified as a vehicle for disease outbreaks. Changes in consumption may explain this increase, but analyses of produce consumption are limited. Comprehensive assessments of the public health risks associated with produce depend on quantitative consumption data, including the population fractions and subgroups of consumers, the quantities consumed by these individuals, and the processing that occurs before consumption. Here, we provide an analysis of nationally representative consumption estimates by estimating consumption frequencies, serving sizes, and processing forms for a variety of produce commodities based on 1999 through 2006 data from "What We Eat in America," the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey performed by the National Center for Health Statistics. Consumption patterns for fresh and heat-treated produce were assessed, compared with U.S. food availability estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS), and combined with ERS data on temporal trends in food availability and nondomestic produce origins. To identify high-consuming population subgroups, we explored consumer habits and demographic predictors of fresh produce consumption (data available at www.foodrisk.org). Our analysis of common outbreak vehicles revealed limited temporal changes in food availability but frequent consumption as fresh commodities. In addition to providing quantitative consumption estimates for risk assessments, our data clearly show that produce consumption differs among fruits and vegetables, fresh and heat-treated foods, and demographic subgroups. These results are valuable for risk assessments and outbreak investigations and allow targeting of risk communication or interventions to those individuals at greatest risk.     

Reduction in fat intake in The Netherlands: the influence of food composition data

In 1987–1988, the first Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS) was conducted among 5898 subjects, aged 1–85 years. In 1992, the second survey was carried out among 6218 subjects, aged 1–92 years. Data of the first DNFCS were converted into energy and nutrients with the 1986–1987 version of The Netherlands nutrient databank (NEVO). The latest update of the 1993 NEVO Table was used to convert the 1992 food consumption data. This update reflected real changes in food availability but also artefactual changes due to improvements in the quality of the data. Compared with the results of the first DNFCS, in 1992 a substantially lower fat intake was observed (105 vs 92 g/day). Roughly half of the difference could be ascribed to changes in food choices, and the remaining half to changes in nutrient databanks. After correction for artefacts in nutrient databases the real difference in fat intake between the first and the second DNFCS was assessed to be 11 g/day. In conclusion, changes in food consumption data over time should be interpreted with care, and it is important to separate facts from artefacts.     

Pesticide residues and acute risk assessment the US EPA approach

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses acute dietary exposure to pesticide residues using a tiered approach, proceeding from conservative to more refined assumptions as the risk management situation requires. Toxicity and food residue data used by EPA in assessing acute dietary risk are obtained from studies submitted by chemical companies in support of pesticide registration and tolerance setting. The primary source of food consumption data used by EPA in acute dietary risk assessments is the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) 1989-1991.     

Dietary exposure assessment of Danish consumers to dithiocarbamate residues in food: a comparison of the deterministic and probabilistic approach.

Probabilistic and deterministic estimates of the acute and chronic exposure of the Danish populations to dithiocarbamate residues were performed. The Monte Carlo Risk Assessment programme (MCRA 4.0) was used for the probabilistic risk assessment. Food consumption data were obtained from the nationwide dietary survey conducted in 2000--02. Residue data for 5721 samples from the monitoring programme conducted in the period 1998--2003 were used for dithiocarbamates, which had been determined as carbon disulphide. Contributions from 26 commodities were included in the calculations. Using the probabilistic approach, the daily acute intakes at the 99.9% percentile for adults and children were 11.2 and 28.2 microg kg(-1) body weight day(-1), representing 5.6% and 14.1% of the ARfD for maneb, respectively. When comparing the point estimate approach with the probabilistic approach, the outcome of the point estimate calculations was generally higher or comparable with the outcome of the probabilistic approach at the 99.9 percentile (consumers only). The chronic exposures for adults and children were 0.35 and 0.76 microg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) at the 99.9 percentile, representing 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, of the acceptable daily intake for mancozeb and maneb at 50 microg kg(-1) body weight.     

Dietary exposure assessment of Danish consumers to dithiocarbamate residues in food: a comparison of the deterministic and probabilistic approach

Probabilistic and deterministic estimates of the acute and chronic exposure of the Danish populations to dithiocarbamate residues were performed. The Monte Carlo Risk Assessment programme (MCRA 4.0) was used for the probabilistic risk assessment. Food consumption data were obtained from the nationwide dietary survey conducted in 2000--02. Residue data for 5721 samples from the monitoring programme conducted in the period 1998--2003 were used for dithiocarbamates, which had been determined as carbon disulphide. Contributions from 26 commodities were included in the calculations. Using the probabilistic approach, the daily acute intakes at the 99.9% percentile for adults and children were 11.2 and 28.2 microg kg(-1) body weight day(-1), representing 5.6% and 14.1% of the ARfD for maneb, respectively. When comparing the point estimate approach with the probabilistic approach, the outcome of the point estimate calculations was generally higher or comparable with the outcome of the probabilistic approach at the 99.9 percentile (consumers only). The chronic exposures for adults and children were 0.35 and 0.76 microg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) at the 99.9 percentile, representing 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, of the acceptable daily intake for mancozeb and maneb at 50 microg kg(-1) body weight.     

Dietary Bioactive Compounds and Their Health Implications

There is strong scientific evidence suggesting that regular consumption of fruits and vegetables is negatively associated with risk of developing chronic diseases. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day based on a 2000 kcal diet. However, the average person in the United States consumes 3.6 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. In order to achieve the goal of at least 9 servings, we should continue educating Americans about the health benefits of fruits and vegetables and recommend consumers to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The key is to increase the amount up to 9 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day in all forms. Fresh, cooked, and processed fruits and vegetables including frozen and canned, 100% fruit juices, 100% vegetable juices, and dried fruits are all considered as servings of fruits and vegetables. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables provide a range of nutrients and different bioactive compounds including phytochemicals (phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids), vitamins (vitamin C, folate, and provitamin A), minerals (potassium, calcium, and magnesium), and fibers. More and more evidence suggests that the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are attributed to the additive and synergistic interactions of the phytochemicals present in whole foods by targeting multiple signal transduction pathways. Therefore, consumers should obtain nutrients and bioactive compounds from a wide variety of whole foods for optimal nutrition and health well‐being, not from expensive dietary supplements.