Total diet studies in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

The first total diet study (TDS) in Catalonia was contacted between 2000 and 2002 with the objective of estimating the mean dietary exposures for different population cohorts by age and gender to the main environmental contaminants, which included heavy metals and a number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as dioxins and PCBs. A second TDS was conducted in 2006 with improved food consumption data and with additional analytes, such as certain POPs pesticides and mycotoxins. The levels and trends in these diet-related exposures are described in the context of their potential impact on public health.