Foods constitute a large portion of heavy metal exposure toward general population and attract a deep concern with respect to assuring human health. This study summarized published data in Korea on the content and dietary intake of heavy metals and assessed their risk potential in comparison with foreign data. An analysis for the yearly fluctuation of metal contents including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead by food group (marine fishes, coastal shellfishes, freshwater fishes, cereal grains) exhibited a decreasing trend from the 1970s to the 1990s. When compared with domestic standards of heavy metals, their mean contents were below the limit and their maximum values seldom exceeded the limit. The data on the dietary intake of heavy metals by Koreans showed a decreasing trend from the 1980s to the 1990s. The average intakes of As and Hg were 6-8% and those of Cd and Pb were 50-80% of PTWI(provisional tolerable weekly intake), all of which were below the tolerance. As the extreme intakes of these metals may exceed the PTWI, a careful assessment for them may be necessary. Dietary intakes of Cd, Hg and Pb by Koreans lie in the mid-level among countries cited in the GEMS/Food monitoring data. As fishery foods are suspecious of contamination with Hg, Cd and As, and foods in general are with Pb, it is necessary to establish legal limits for these metals and monitor any progress of their contamination. Furthermore, overall assessment of exposure to heavy metals from all sources including foods, air, drinking water and occupation should be made in order to confirm the dietary risk factors and to assure the safety of food resources.

In order to obtain the data for extreme food intake by Koream adults, the data of adult dietary survey undertaken in 1995 were used through statistical treatment, taking into account of dietary habits. Various food commodities amounting to 159 items were classified into 14 food groups and fractiles of 90th and 95th percentile of individual food items were computed on the assumption that the food consumption pattern exhibits a normal distribution. Most of the food items showed the ratio of fractiles to mean intake in the range of 2.0∼3.0 while the ratio greatly deviated from these values in items such as seasonings, spices, nuts, seeds and favorite beverages as well as most commonly-eaten or rarely-eaten foods.

국내에서는 식품수급표와 국민영양조사가 지난 수십년에 걸쳐 두개의 중앙부처에서 각각 수행되어 왔다. 그러나 근년에 들어와 두가지 통계자료간의 격차가 수용할 수 없는 수준에 도달하고 있다. 그 이유로서는 지난 30년간 공업화 및 도시화에 따른 식습관의 급격한 변화에도 불구하고 조사방법의 개선이 뒤따르지 못했기 때문으로 추정된다. 따라서 현재 이용가능한 국민영양조사에 의한 식품소비량 데이타를 식품수급표를 감안하면서 최적화하였다. 최근 1991-95년 기간중 개별 식품항목의 조정 소비량이 곡류, 감자류, 당류제품, 두류, 견과종실류, 과일류, 채소류, 육류, 난류, 우유제품, 유지류 및 수산물에 대하여 제안되었다. 소맥제품, 두류제품, 김치류 및 우유제품을 포함하는 가공식품에서는 그들의 원료성분으로 계산하기 위한 잠정적인 환산계수를 제안하였다. 식품들의 공급량 데이타와 섭취량 데이타 간의 큰 편차는 국민영양조사에서 계절적 차이와 아울러 가공식품 및 외식에 의한 섭취량이 무시되었기때문으로 지적되었다. 여기에서 제안하는 조정된 식품소비량 데이타는 앞으로 새로운 절차에 의한 국민건강영양조사 결과가 나와 검증될 때까지 평균소비량을 위한 국가대표치로 활용되기를 기대한다.

Mandarin orange fruits were artificially contaminated with an organophosphorus insecticide phenthoate by dipping and the residue level of phenthoate was investigated during the purification steps of dietary fiber or bioflavonoid. The removal rate of phenthoate at 8 and 0.5 ppm levels was 98% in the total dietary fiber, 99% in the insoluble dietary fiber and 99.8% in the soluble dietary fiber preparations. During the preparation of bioflavonoid from peels at a 5 ppm pesticide level, the removal rate was 90% in the intermediate extract and 99.9% in the final extract. In conclusion, phenthoate residues in the peels of mandarin orange were mostly removed during the preparation processes of dietary fiber or bioflavonoid and its residue level would not raise any problem in safety aspects of the purified products.