ANSES publishes a study of the total diet

ANSES just published the second study called the Total Diet (EAT) started in 2006 and which focused on the search for 445 chemicals (pesticides, heavy metals, contaminants from human activities, phytoestrogens, additives , ...).

The study was conducted on 20,000 foods belonging to 212 families of differents products.
Approximately 250 000 test results have been collected, allowing them to overlap with the datas on food habits from the study INCA2 of Agency, to estimate total dietary exposure of consumers to these various substances, and to compare, when available, to available toxicological thresholds considered safe for health.

The results of this study shows good overall control with 85% of substances that have been assessed do not pose a risk because the exposure of consumers are still below the toxicological reference values.
283 pesticides were investigated, the results confirm the data of monitoring that have a compliance rate greater than 95% against the regulatory limits.

For a dozen substances, the risk of exceeding VTR (toxicological reference values) can not be excluded given the high consumption of certain foods: this case of some inorganic compounds (cadmium, inorganic arsenic, aluminum, methylmercury) , sulphites, a mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol, DON said, and its derivatives), acrylamide (compound newly formed during cooking) and a pesticide (dimethoate).
The same is true for lead and PCBs, despite the observed decreases exposure from EAT1 made between the years 2000 to 2004.

We invite you to read the report of the study directly on the site of ANSES at the following address:http://www.anses.fr/PM91007901.htm