Modelling vitamin A intake from liver foods

1
Modelling vitamin A intake from liver foods is
there a risk for teratogenicity?
Tiina Lavikainen1 Christina Bäckman2Finnish
Food Safety Authority Evira1Risk Assessment
Unit, e-mail tiina.lavikainen_at_evira.fi
2Chemistry and Toxicology Unit, e-mail
christina.backman_at_evira.fi

• Introduction
• Liver is rich in vitamin A (retinol). High intake
  of vitamin A during pregnancy may cause birth
  defects, and therefore pregnant women are advised
  not to eat liver foods. So far there has been no
  assessment of the true risks of maintaining liver
  foods in the diet while pregnant. We have
  constructed a model to quantitatively evaluate if
  restriction in liver use is necessary among
  Finnish women.
• Simulation model
• Aim of the model is to simulate vitamin A intake
  from liver and non-liver sources among Finnish
  women of fertile age. Intake from liver is
  calculated as a long-term intake (daily exposure)
  and as an exposure from single liver meal (figure
  1). The model is based on new analyses of vitamin
  A in liver (figure 2) and current food
  consumption data.

• Scenarios
• In addition to modelling the present vitamin A
  intake, effects of three risk management options
  are studied
• 25 reduction in liver vitamin A content
• sow livers are not used as food ingredient
• women are allowed to eat liver sausage and pâté,
  but no main course liver foods
• Conclusions
• This model is to be used in a risk assessment of
  vitamin A intake among Finnish women. The risk
  assessment gives answers to the long-time
  question of the safety of liver foods during
  pregnancy, and provides quantitative basis for
  risk management planning in future.

Vitamin A in livers of Finnish livestock in 2005
Figure 1. Basic structure of the simulation model
for vitamin A intake.
Monte Carlo method is used to generate results as
probability distributions. Simulated vitamin A
intakes are then compared to nutritional
recommendations and upper tolerable intake limits
during pregnancy.