Daily dietary iron, zinc and copper intake of infants in Belgium

Daily dietary iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) intake in healthy toddlers in the Antwerp region of Belgium, aged 2-3 years, have been evaluated by duplicate portion sampling and compared with weighed food and food composition tables. The elemental content was analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry after acid destruction and heating in a microwave oven. We found a discrepancy between the two methods of intake calculation. Since we found that duplicate portion sampling and analysis, although labour-intensive, is the most accurate way of estimating intake, we selected the values obtained by that method to compare with literature data. Mean Fe intake (4.8+/-0.2 mg/day) was low compared with intakes from most other countries, and far below the population reference intake (PRI) for Belgium and the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) value (10 mg/day). For Zn, mean intake (7.5+/-2.6 mg/day) was higher than in most other countries and above the recently revised PRI for Belgium (4 mg/day). The mean intake of Cu (0.7+/-0.2 mg/day) was found to be similar to those found for most other countries, was far above the PRI for this element (0.4 mg/day) and was at the lower end of the RDA range (0.7-1.0 mg/day). The intake of Cu and Zn by the healthy toddler population in the Antwerp region seems to be adequate, while intake of Fe is critically low.