Award details

Total Diet Study

Reference	BBS/E/F/00051630
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Charlotte Armah
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	24,485
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/01/2003
End date	31/12/2007
Duration	60 months

Abstract

Pesticide and other residues and contaminants in the UK diet are monitored through the analysis of regular samples representative of the typical diet. This project has been running continuously since 1966, and so provides evidence for trends in levels of contamination. The Total Diet Study played an important part in MAFF¿s (now the FSAs) food surveillance programme, in monitoring the safety and nutritional adequacy of the average British diet. The current protocol is to provide composite samples of the 21 food groups from towns over each year of the project. A selection of foods, representative of each food group (over a hundred individual food items), are purchased via BMRB (British Market Research Bureau). The food is dispatched to IFR where it is prepared following normal domestic practice, but using techniques and equipment that avoid introducing further contamination. Cooking procedures are varied to represent domestic practice, although frying is not used since this would render some analyses of lipid contaminants impossible. After cooking, a composite group sample is prepared that contains each food item in proportion to its contribution to the UK diet, as determined from the National Food Survey. The homogenised samples are routinely analysed by the LGC and NRPB for heavy metals and radionuclides, and results are relayed directly to the FSA. Backup samples are kept by IFR for five years. Reports based on the study are published by the Steering Group on Food Surveillance (FSA), and these are used by government departments and the scientific community.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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