Phosphorus in the British household food supply

The intake of phosphorus in Britain was calculated for 1975 by applying the values for phosphorus in foods from the 4th edition of McCance and Widdowson's 'The composition of foods' to the average household food purchases recorded in the National Food Survey (NFS). A similar exercise was carried out for 1982, but using many updated values for the phosphorus content of foods. In 1975 the average household intake of phosphorus was 1310 mg per person per day while by 1982 it had declined to 1223 mg per person per day. The calcium: phosphorus ratio was 1 : 1.3 in both years. These intakes are above the US recommendation for adults but well below the maximum tolerable daily intakes for phosphorus.