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The aim was to estimate the adult exposure to cadmium, lead and mercury from daily household diets in Eastern Poland (Lublin city and province). A duplicate diet approach was used to top collect diet samples in 1990, 1993, 1998 and 2002. Cadmium and lead contents were measured by flame atomic absorption and the mercury content was measured by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The intake of the three elements was calculated using FOOD computer software. The exposure to cadmium taken with daily diets was from 16.4-34.5 microg/person/day (27-58% PTWI). The lead exposure was 66.5-106 microg/person/day (31-49% PTWI), which posed a smaller risk, and the exposure risk to mercury of 4.08-6.65 microg/person/day (10-16% PTWI) was even lower.

Children are particularly vulnerable to zinc (Zn) deficiency during periods of rapid growth and development such as infancy and adolescence. The aim was to find the relationship between food frequency, intake, food habits and zinc status in 11-year-old healthy children from southern Poland. The study group comprised children (n = 157) in the age range 11.0 +/- 0.4 years. The level of Zn in serum, erythrocytes and hair samples was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The parents of children examined completed a special food frequency questionnaire. The Zn concentration in hair (boys 182.98 +/- 65.63 microg x g(-1), n = 78; girls 203.82 +/- 39.80 microg x g(-1), n = 79; p = 0.0171), erythrocytes (8.60 +/- 2.76 mg x l(-1), n = 50) and blood serum (0.79 +/- 0.15 mg x l(-1)) correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with frequency intake of different products (hair: meat, rolls, fruit juices without additives, brawn, pate, barley, black pudding, fish canned, chips, margarine used for cooking, bacon; erythrocytes: fruits, matured cheese, dishes of meal, white cottage cheese, fruit juices without additives, cakes and cakes with cream, margarine used for bread spread; blood serum: bread, fruits, milk, kefir, yoghurt). The relationship of the Zn amount in food products, food frequency intake and the concentration in different healthy children tissues is influenced by many internal and external factors.