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Long-term dietary exposures to lead in young children were calculated by combining food consumption data of 11 European countries categorised using harmonised broad food categories with occurrence data on lead from different Member States (pan-European approach). The results of the assessment in children living in the Netherlands were compared with a long-term lead intake assessment in the same group using Dutch lead concentration data and linking the consumption and concentration data at the highest possible level of detail. Exposures obtained with the pan-European approach were higher than the national exposure calculations. For both assessments cereals contributed most to the exposure. The lower dietary exposure in the national study was due to the use of lower lead concentrations and a more optimal linkage of food consumption and concentration data. When a pan-European approach, using a harmonised food categorisation system and “European” concentration data, results in a possible health risk related to the intake of an environmental chemical for a certain country, it is advisable to refine this assessment, as part of a tiered approach, using national occurrence data, including an optimised linkage between foods analysed and consumed for that country. In the case of lack of occurrence data, these data can be supplemented with data from the “European” concentration database or by generating additional concentration data at country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oxidative stress may accelerate ageing and increase the risk of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD). We assessed differences in oxidative stress, and iron and antioxidant status between elderly men living in Mediterranean southern Europe (Crete, Greece) and northern Europe (Zutphen, The Netherlands)., Design: A cross-sectional study using data from two cohorts of the Seven Countries Study., Methods: Non-fasting blood samples were drawn in 2000 from 105 men from Crete and 139 men from Zutphen, all aged 79 years or over. All assays were performed in the same laboratory., Results: After multiple adjustments, serum levels of the markers of oxidative stress were lower in Cretan men than in men from Zutphen, as indicated by lower mean levels of hydroperoxides (33.2 versus 57.3 micromol/l; P=0.005) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (20.3 versus 26.1 U/l; P=0.003). The most pronounced difference in iron status was a twofold lower mean serum ferritin level in Cretan men (69.8 microg/l) compared with men from Zutphen (134.2 microg/l; P<0.0001). Men from Crete had consistently higher plasma levels of major plasma antioxidants than the Zutphen men, including a nearly fourfold higher mean level of lycopene (15.3 versus 4.1 microg/100 ml; P<0.0001)., Conclusion: Elderly men from Crete had consistently lower levels of the indicators of oxidative stress and iron status and higher concentrations of major antioxidants than men from Zutphen. These differences may contribute to the lower rate of CHD and total mortality that has been observed in this cohort of Cretan men.