Chemical and radiological characterization of meals served by the COSEAS (USP-SP)

This study presents the results obtained for the chemical and radiological analyses of lunch meals served in the cafeteria at the University of Sao Paulo-USP (COSEAS restaurant) in Brazil, on 5 non-consecutive days. On each of the five days, the meals were collected in triplicate and then freeze-dried for analysis totalizing 15 samples. The determination of the proximate composition complied with the AOAC standardized methodologies. The content of Ca, Fe, K, Na, Se, and Zn was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis and the method validation was performed by certified reference materials analyses. Based on the concentration data, the daily intake of each mineral was calculated (corresponding to 40% of the total daily intake) and compared to the new recommendations set by the National Research Council (USA) considering the 19-30 year-old women range group. Comparing the average values obtained in this study with the recommended values, it was possible to verify that for macronutrients and the micronutrients Fe, Se, and Zn the recommendations were followed; for Ca and K they were deficient and exceeded the recommendation value for Na. The radionuclides 40K, 60Co, 137Cs, and 131I were determined by gamma spectrometry; 90Sr by liquid scintillation and 210Po, 234U, 232Th, 238U, 235U, 228Th, 230Th, and 232Th by alpha spectrometry. All radionuclides are present in concentrations below the limits set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (author)