ABSTRACT
The average daily selenium intake of staff of the Institute of Health in Beijng was surveyed to be 66.4?g and that of children in nursery and kindergarten was 34.7?g, which could meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance as suggested. Cereals were the major source of dietary selenium which accounted for 63.6% of total dietary intake, and animal and plant foods provided about 25.9% and 10.5% respectively. Both cereals and animal foods were the major sources of selenium in children diet, which accounted for 48.9% and 44.3% respectively, and intake of selenium from other sources was negligible.The selenium concentrations in whole blood and hair of the population were 0.146ppm and 0.578ppm respectively, and both correlated well with the daily selenium intake.The daily intake of mercury, arsenic, and cadmium for population in Beijing were estimated to be 3.4, 52.7, and 42.7*g respectively, which were within the normal range of intake and would not significantly interfere with the bioavailability of selenium ingested. It was suggested thal these levels of selenium daily intake surveyed would be adequate for human consumption and could be helpful as a reference for the establishment of dietary allowance.