English Abstract Iron and selenium have been determinded in 108 samples
of bread which reflect the bread concumption in the Netherlands in March
1988. Quality assurance included duplicate analysis of samples and assay of
the standard reference materials Brown Bread and Whole Meal flour of
BCE;EC/Brussels. Results are both repeatable and accurate. Mean level
(N=108) for iron in bread is 18 mg/kg and for selenium from 12-45 mug/kg.
On average, brown bread and rye bread contain twice as much iron as white
bread does. The types of bread assayed hardly differ in selenium content.
However, there is one exception: rye bread which on average contains halve
the selenium content of the other samples. Mean selenium levels of all
tytpes of bread assayed in this study are considerably below those found for
Dutch bread in previous studies. In general, the role of bread as a source
for a significant portion of the daily selenium requirement is
overestimated. Bread considered in this study covers, on average, only
3-14% of the daily selenium requirement of males and females aged 22 years
and on.