The first total diet study in Fiji

Abstract

The Fiji Islands are located in the southwest Pacific and comprise over 100 inhabited islands with a population of close to one million. It is a regional hub of several small island states and houses the main campus of the University of the South Pacific (USP). USP has an internationally accredited food analysis laboratory which in 2004-2005 undertook the first Total Diet Study to be done in a Pacific Island country. Eleven food groups were selected and pesticides, heavy metals and iron analyses performed on the three most widely consumed foods in each group. Data from Fiji's FAO food balance sheets and 10-yearly food consumption surveys in Fiji were used to estimate weekly intakes of the 11 food groups. Weekly intakes of heavy metals were all about 20 % of WHO recommendations for provisional tolerable weekly intakes; only one food sample contained any pesticide. For quality assurance all procedures were vetted by Dr. Richard Vannoort of New Zealand and many food samples were also analyzed in a New Zealand laboratory.