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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted the Total Diet Stuty (TDS) annually since 1961. The TDS is designed to monitor the US food supply for levels of toxic chemical contaminants (pesticide residues, industrial chemicals and toxic elements) and nutritional elements. Foods are generally collected four times a year, once from each of four regions of the country. The foods are prepared table-ready before being analysed. From the results of the TDS, dietary, intakes of these analytes are estimated for selected age-sex groups in the US population. This paper reports on the dietary intake of 10 nutritional and four toxic elements based on measurements made in foods collected in the TDS between 1991 and late 1996. Average daily intakes were estimated for 14 age-sex groups in the US population, as well as the contribution of specific food groups to total intakes. For most nutritional elements, teenage boys and adult males had the highest daily intakes. Intakes by infants were below the intake references for seven of 10 nutritional elements, and young girls and women had inadequate intakes of at least half the nutritional elements. Intakes by children between 2 and 10 years of age, teenage boys, and adult males met or exceeded the reference intakes for the majority of nutritional elements. Intakes by all population groups were well below the reference intakes for all toxic elements.

The FDA has conducted the Total Dietary Study (TDS), a yearly market basket programme, since 1961. It is designed to monitor the levels of toxic chemical contaminants (pesticide residues, industrial and elemental contaminants) and essential nutrients in the US food supply. It also provides information on trends in dietary concentrations and exposures for the general population. Foods are collected from retail stores once a year from each of four geographic areas of the US and are analysed either after preparation/cooking or as ready-to-eat. The latest TDS (1991-1997) data show that arsenic (inorganic and organic, > or = 0.03 ppm) was found in 63 (24%) of the 261-264 foods/mixed dishes analysed. The highest concentration was found in seafood, followed by rice/rice cereal, mushrooms, and poultry. Based on the United States Department of Agriculture's 1987-1988 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey, the estimated daily total arsenic average intakes, in microgram/day, are: 2 for infants, 23 for toddlers, 20 for 6-year-old children, 13 for 10-year-old children, 15 for 14-16-year-old boys, 21 for 14-16-year-old girls, 57 for 25-30-year-old men, 28 for 25-30-year-old women, 47 for 40-45-year-old men, 37 for 40-45-year-old women, 92 for 60-65-year-old men, 72 for 60-65-year-old women, 69 for 70-year-old men, and 42 for 70-year-old women. Of the estimated total arsenic intakes for infants, 42% arise from seafood and 31% from rice/rice cereals. Of the estimated total arsenic intakes, seafood contributes 76-90% for children (2-10-year olds), 79-85% for 14-16-year olds, and 89-96% for adults (> or = 25-30-year olds); rice/rice cereals contributes 4-8% for children, 8% for 14-16-year olds, and 1-4% for adults (> or = 25-30-year olds).