Exposure assessment within a Total Diet Study: a comparison of the use of the pan-European classification system FoodEx-1 with national food classification systems

Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns are Associated with Heart Rate Variability

Assessment of heart rate variability (HRV) and cardiac ectopic beats is a clinically relevant topic. The present exploratory observational study aimed to inspect the relationships of lifestyle, dietary patterns, and anthropometrics with HRV, premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), and supraventricular premature complexes (SVPCs). A cross-sectional study enrolling subjects undergoing Holter monitoring was performed. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, body composition (full-body bio-impedentiometry), dietary patterns (validated food frequency questionnaire and 24 h dietary recall), and quality of life were assessed. Generalized additive models were estimated to evaluate the relationships between outcomes of interest and variables collected. The study enrolled 121 consecutive patients undergoing 24 h Holter monitoring. Upon univariable analysis, HRV was found to have an inverse association with mass of body fat (MBF) (p-value 0.015), while doing physical activity was associated with a significantly higher HRV (p-value 0.036). Upon multivariable analysis, fruit consumption in the 24 h dietary recall was found to be directly associated with HRV (p-value 0.044). The present findings might be useful for improving the management of patients attending cardiac rhythm labs, and to tailor ad hoc prevention strategies (modification of lifestyle and eating habits) based on Holter parameters.

Dietary intake of arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead by the population of Catalonia, Spain: Analysis of the temporal trend

In 2017, a monitoring study was conducted in Catalonia (Spain) to analyse, in widely consumed foodstuffs, the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), as well as those of inorganic As (InAs) and methylmercury (MeHg). Health risks were estimated for various population groups, classified according to age. A continued reduction of dietary exposure to these elements was observed when comparing the results from the current and previous studies performed during the last 17 years. This reduction would be associated to a decrease of As, Cd, Hg and Pb concentrations in food, as well as by changes in dietary habits. None of the adult groups exceeded the safety threshold established by the EFSA, but toddlers, infants and children exceeded the PTWI for Cd and MeHg. The greatest intake of Cd and MeHg corresponded to infants, being due to the consumption of cuttlefish and hake. The consumption of these species should be reduced to two or three weekly portions, being combined with the intake of other non-predator species. Anyhow, the current results indicate that is necessary to conduct further periodical surveys, paying special attention to the trend in the intake of Cd and MeHg.

Contaminants in Grain-A Major Risk for Whole Grain Safety?

Grains are the main energy and carbohydrate sources for human nutrition globally. Governmental and non-governmental authorities recommend whole grains as a healthy food choice. The role of contaminants in (whole) grains and how to mitigate any potential risk following their consumption has not been reported. With this narrative review, we shed light on the potential human health risk from contaminants in whole grains and elaborate strategies to mitigate such risk. We found that grains represent a significant source of food-borne contaminants, the main ones being; mycotoxins including (A) aflatoxin B1; (B) ochratoxin A; (C) fumonisin B1; (D) deoxynivalenol; (E) zearalenone; toxic metals like arsenic, cadmium and lead; as well as process contaminants such as acrylamide. Whole grains usually contain more contaminants than refined products. However, whole grains also provide more nutrients that may reduce the impact of these contaminants. Strict regulatory thresholds aim to minimize the risk of contaminants to public health. The consumer can further impact on the mitigation of any risk by eating a healthy diet filled with nutrient-dense foods such as whole grains and probiotics. The risk posed by contaminants from whole grains do not outweigh the known nutritional benefits of whole grain consumption.

A mycotoxin-dedicated total diet study in the Netherlands in 2013: Part I – Design

A mycotoxin-dedicated total diet study (mTDS) allowing assessment of occurrence and dietary exposure to these substances was developed and carried out in the Netherlands in 2013. First, literature was searched to establish the occurrence profile of mycotoxins. Next, foods as consumed according to the Dutch National Food Consumption Surveys (DNFCS) for young children and persons aged 7-69 years, categorised in several food categories, were ranked according to their summed consumption. Subsequently, foods with the highest consumptions were included to cover >85% of the consumption of a particular food category. In some cases, foods other than those contributing to the upper 85% consumption within a food category were included based on their expected high mycotoxin contamination. In some other cases, foods not contributing to mycotoxin exposure were excluded. This resulted in 130 foods to be included in this mTDS. Since a sample size of 12 was established per food, 1,560 food items were purchased for the population aged 7-69 years. Fifty seven additional food items were purchased to take into account the different consumption profile of young children. The 1,617 food items were prepared as consumed based on information available in the food consumption surveys. The prepared food items were combined according to the different consumption forms of the 130 selected foods (e.g. fresh, canned or frozen). This resulted in 213 subsamples, which were proportionally to their consumption further pooled into 88 composite samples. These composite samples covered 87 and 88% of the amount foods consumed by young children and the population aged 7-69 years, respectively. This design allows analysis of mycotoxin occurrence and the subsequent exposure assessment using aggregated food categories reflected by the 88 composite samples, as well as a more refined approach by analysing 213 subsamples.