engleski

Dietary iron assessment – nutritional iron intake from bread and bakery products

For iron the problem almost exclusively lies in nutritional deficiency, since energy and iron intake are in direct correlation. Still, plant foods are the main sources of iron in a daily diet contributing with more than 80% to total dietary intake of iron. Therefore, maximizing iron in plant foods, specifically bread and bakery seems like a potentially successful measure since they are consumed several times per day by all population groups. When arguing about iron and health aspects, the importance is equally on low as well as on high intake of iron, and males are especially sensitive to the latter. The aim was to create worst and best case scenarios for iron intake from bread and bakery products according to their consumption frequency in Croatia and separate regions. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Croatian Food Agency. National Dietary Survey data on consumption frequency of bread and bakery, and types of products most frequently consumed (i.e. white, semi-white, corn, etc.) were used. Iron content was determined with a rapid spectroscopic method developed by Kosse et al. (2001). The assessment was done on a basis of minimum and maximum consumption among consumers, and males and females separately. Scenarios were created on a level of population (Croatia) and six regions, and compared with the recommendations (DRI and UL). Semi-white and white, followed by corn and other types of bread and bakery products are most commonly consumed, with no observed difference between genders. The assessment analysis on a population level showed that intake of iron (in mg/day) from bread and bakery products vary widely: for semi-white 0.33 (0.00–1.45), white 0.42 (0.01–1.82), corn 0.50 (0.01–2.18), or soy type 5.52 (0.07–24.09). Dietary iron intake varies significantly between regions (the highest in Istra, Primorje and Gorski Kotar) and genders (males have higher maximum dietary iron intake regardless of the type of bakery consumed). The analysis shows that for population groups at risk (e.g. women) consumption of bakery products made of various flours would result in significantly improved dietary iron. On the other hand, precaution is needed in males for whom, although in rare cases the risk of excessive iron intake exists.

dietary iron ; bread and bakery products ; assessment ; Croatia

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