ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Fruits and vegetables are key to a healthy diet, particularly in children; however, parents may be concerned about contaminants found in fruits and vegetables. Making informed food choices for children requires understanding and balancing the risks of contaminant exposure with the importance of providing a healthy diet. The objective of this work is to identify fruits and vegetables commonly consumed by infants and toddlers; identify potential contaminants in fruits and vegetables; and outline considerations in assessing contaminant risks in food categories with a critical role in a healthy diet. METHOD: Commonly consumed fruits and vegetables were obtained from the Feeding Infants & Toddlers Study (FITS 2016). The US Food and Drug Administration Total Diet Study was reviewed for contaminant occurrence, and multiple experts were consulted on considerations in assessing risk of certain contaminants. RESULTS: FITS data show eight fruits and nine vegetables account for over 80% of consumption in infants and toddlers. Several contaminants have been detected in fruits and vegetables. Questions to be addressed prior to establishing contaminant guidance were identified. CONCLUSION: Contaminant guidance for fruits and vegetables consumed by infants and toddlers raises several challenges. Expertise from multiple disciplines is required to find an approach that maximizes public health benefit.
Subject(s)
Diet , Food Contamination , Fruit , Vegetables , Beverages , Cross-Sectional Studies , Diet Surveys , Environmental Pollutants , Humans , Infant , Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Metals, Heavy , Nutritive Value , Pesticide Residues , United StatesABSTRACT
Iron deficiency (ID) affects 13.5% of 1-2 years old children in the US and may have a negative impact on neurodevelopment and behavior. Iron-fortified infant cereal is the primary non-heme iron source among infants aged 6-11.9 months. The objective of this study was to compare iron intakes of infant cereal users with non-users. Data from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study 2008 were used for this analysis. Based on a 24-h recall, children between the ages of 4-17.9 months were classified as 'cereal users' if they consumed any amount or type of infant cereal and 'non-users' if they did not. Infant cereal was the top source of dietary iron among infants aged 6-11.9 months. The majority of infants (74.6%) aged 6-8.9 months consumed infant cereal, but this declined to 51.5% between 9-11.9 months and 14.8% among 12-17.9 months old toddlers. Infant cereal users consumed significantly more iron than non-users across all age groups. Infants and toddlers who consume infant cereal have higher iron intakes compared to non-users. Given the high prevalence of ID, the appropriate use of infant cereals in a balanced diet should be encouraged to reduce the incidence of ID and ID anemia.
