Dietary intake of nitrates and nitrites in boarding schools of the Slovak Republic

Janeková, K. and Šinková, T. (2008) Dietary intake of nitrates and nitrites in boarding schools of the Slovak Republic. Acta Alimentaria, 37 (1). pp. 123-131. ISSN 0139-3006

Text aalim.2007.0023.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 March 2028. Download (201kB)

Abstract

All boarding school provisions within the Slovak Republic are due to prepare meals under the guidance of the Ministry of Health that monitors recommended daily intakes of individual foods and dietary allowances of nutrients through scientific meetings. Calculations based on a nutrition model of a boarding school in four months were done to estimate the mean dietary intake of nitrates and nitrites, industrially added to foodstuffs, by children aged 7 to 10 years. Following recognised methodology of the Codex Alimentarius and the European Commission, it was assumed that nitrates and nitrites are used in the widest possible range of foods and at their maximum permitted levels, resulting in overestimation of intake values. The mean daily exposure of consumers with the lowest (21 kg) and the mean (26.5 kg) body mass to nitrates ranged from 0.6 to 6.7% and from 0.5 to 5.3% of their acceptable daily intake (ADI), respectively. For the same consumers, the mean daily exposure to nitrites ranged from 0 to 13.0% and from 0 to 10.3% ADI. No significant seasonal differences were obvious. The results indicated that the above-mentioned group of children is sufficiently protected from hazard of nitrates and nitrites in food.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item