Update of US FDA's Total Diet Study food list and diets

Abstract

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Total Diet Study (TDS) has been conducted continuously since the early 1960s to measures levels of various pesticide residues, contaminants, and nutrients in foods and to estimate the dietary exposures to these compounds. Both the TDS food list and the consumption amounts used for estimating exposures are based on results of nationwide food consumption surveys, and they are updated periodically to reflect changes in food consumption patterns. The most recent update was completed in 2003 using the same methodology employed in the previous update (1990). The updated food list includes approximately the same number of foods (285) as the previous list (290). Although most (75%) foods are the same in both versions, the new list reflects trends in consumption of foods containing less fat. The updated diets reflect an increase in total food consumption, with most notable increases in consumption of grains and beverages. A case study comparing cadmium exposures calculated from both the 1990 and 2003 versions of the TDS demonstrated the potential impact of changes in both the food list and consumption amounts on TDS exposure estimates.