Food And Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Research Articles

Kuwait's Total Diet Study: Dietary Intake of Organochlorine, Carbamate, Benzimidazole and Phenylurea Pesticide Residues

The State of Kuwait in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a Total Diet Study (TDS) to estimate intakes of pesticide residues by the population. The levels of organochlorine (OC) pesticides, carbamates, benzimidazoles, and phenylureas in the TDS core list are reported here. The TDS core list was established through a national food consumption survey. All food items (140 for the Kuwaiti adult) were prepared as eaten and analyzed for the pesticides mentioned above. The FDA's multiresidue methods in Volume I of the Pesticide Analytical Manual were used in gas, liquid, and gel permeation chromatographic analyses. Only vegetable and fruit samples contained pesticide residues (mg/kg), including the carbamates 1-naphthol (1.4) and 3H-carbofuran (0.94) in carrots; the OC pesticide vinclozolin (0.47), 3H-carbofuran (0.66), and fenuron (0.6) in kiwi fruit; the OC pesticide procymidone (0.32) and carbendazim (0.5) in grapes; 3H-carbofuran (5.0) in apricots; the OC pesticides captan (0.013) and thiabendazole (0.63) in pears; captan (0.035) in plums; and carbendazim (0.4) in mandarin oranges. The levels of 3H-carbofuran found in both apricots and kiwi fruit exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) of the United Nations. The daily intakes of pesticides by the different population groups are discussed in light of the FAO/WHO acceptable daily intakes.

Food Fortification: Safety and Legislation

The Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) International Conference on Nutrition (ICN), held in Rome in December 1992, recognized the widespread occurrence of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in developing countries. The conference recognized food-based approaches as the most effective way to address existing micronutrient deficiencies. These approaches must include appropriate strategies to assure dietary diversification, improved food availability, food preservation, nutrition education, and food fortification. The final report of the conference included strategies and actions for preventing and controlling specific micronutrient deficiencies. It was proposed to ensure and legislate the fortification of foods or water with necessary micronutrients, where possible, when existing supplies fail to provide adequate levels in the diet. Food fortification has been successfully used in both developed and developing countries as one strategy to address micronutrient deficiencies. The primary purposes of food legislation are to protect the health of the consumer, protect the consumer from fraud, and facilitate trade. In the case of fortified foods, the target population must be protected from receiving either toxic or nutritionally ineffective levels of micronutrients. Legislation may be necessary to require adequate control over this fortification process by the food processors to ensure that levels of micronutrients are consistently within acceptable limits. Legislation may also be required to prohibit the addition of nutrients to commodities where it is nutritionally unnecessary or unsafe or where fortification may create an erroneous impression as to the nutritional value of the food. Any legislation regarding food fortification should incorporate the standards, recommendations, and guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) and the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Agreement) have placed new importance on Codex standards, guidelines, codes, and recommendations.

Use of Amino Acid Profiles of Pretermand Term Human Milks in Evaluating Scoring Patterns for Routine Protein Quality Assessment of Infant Formulas

Reports on the amino acid composition of human milk vary considerably with respect to concentrations of sulfur amino acids. Often, analyses forego tryptophan determination. A complete analysis of protein and amino acid concentrations was performed on human milk samples (5-10 days postpartum) collected from mothers of preterm (gestations of 25-32 weeks) and term (gestations of > 36 weeks) infants. Careful attention was given to quantitate amino acids such as cysteine and tryptophan, which are vulnerable to acidic hydrolysis conditions. Differences in concentrations of total amino acids (expressed on protein basis) between preterm and term milks were small, despite the higher true protein content of preterm milk versus term milk (19.20 versus 12.60 g/L). The methionine + cyst(e)ine contents of term and preterm milks (3.72-3.84 g/100 g protein) were comparable with those reported in 1991 by the Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) for mature human milk (4.20 g/100 g protein) but higher than those reported in 1991 by the European Commission (2.9 g/100 g protein). The amino acid pattern of human milk obtained in this study confirms that the 1991 FAO/WHO amino acid scoring pattern for predicting protein quality of infant formulas is representative of the amino acid quality of both preterm and term human milks.

Food intake and energy expenditure of Nigerian female students.

Twenty apparently healthy and normal Nigerian female students, resident at the University of Ibadan campus, were studied for seven consecutive days to assess their food energy intake and energy expenditure during sedentary and physical activities. The mean age (years) of the group was 20.05 (SD 3.44, range 16-29), mean height (m) 1.62 (SD 0.07, range 1.47-1.74) and body-weight (kg) 51.28 (SD 3.21, range 46-58). The food intake of each subject was obtained by direct weighing, and the energy value determined using a ballistic bomb calorimeter. Daily activities were recorded and the energy cost of representative activities was determined by indirect calorimetry. Activities mainly involved sitting, mean (min/d) 354 (SD 84, range 253-475). Personal domestic activities took a mean of 162 (SD 73) min/d. Sleeping took a mean of 451 (SD 62) min/d. The mean energy intake of the group was 8480 (SD 1316) kJ/d or 167 (SD 30.6) kJ/kg body-weight per d. This value is lower than that recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) (1973) as the energy requirement for adult women engaged in light activities (9205 kJ/d), but it is higher than the FAO/WHO/United Nations University (UNU) (1985) recommended value of 8326 kJ (1990 kcal)/d for a housewife in an affluent society. It is lower than the recommended intake of 9350 kJ/d for rural women in developing countries (FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985). The mean energy expenditure (kJ/d) of the female subjects was 6865 (SD 214, range 6519-7222). Mean energy expenditure was lower than mean energy intake. The energy intake and expenditure values indicated that the subjects participating in the present study were not physically very active. It is suggested, for health reasons, that they might undertake more physical activity.

Infant physiology, nutritional requirements, and lactational adequacy

This article addresses the question of the length of time a given volume of breast milk can be expected to satisfy infant nutritional needs without the introduction of other foods. Breast milk requirements in infants are generally assessed either on the basis of recommended dietary allowances or the measured amounts of breast milk consumed. Recommended dietary allowances for infancy in terms of energy, vitamins, and minerals are highly speculative. The energy composition of milk is not a constant factor. Moreover, recommended dietary allowances do not take into account individual variability of energy needs. More research is needed on the extent to which metabolic adaptation or natural selection may have modified infant requirements in different areas. It is generally believed that the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) allowances are inaccurate; if followed, almost all infants would require substantial supplementation before 3 months of age. The author approached the problem of estimating breast milk requirements by determining the levels of milk intake that were compatible with adequate rates of growth. This analysis indicated that from 2-8 months standard rates of growth were being achieved on energy intakes substantially lower than recommended values. The minimum energy intake at 6-8 months was about 90 kcal/kg. The data suggest that requirements may rise again in the 2nd half of infancy, reaching conventionally accepted levels by 1 year of age. The finding that breast milk yields of 1000 ml/day are sufficient for boy infants up to 12 weeks and for girl infants up to 24 weeks is compatible with the view that breastfeeding alone should satisfy the needs of most infants at least up to 3 months.