[Supplying various age groups with certain essential trace elements]

Investigations revealed a very good correspondence of the intake of trace elements, calculated from per capita food consumption, with the analytically determined values of the full daily diet. It is above all the copper intake and, to a lesser degree, the zinc and iron intake, which deviate from the generally recommended values. The results obtained for the different age groups indicate the copper intake to be sufficient only with children up to six years old. The iron supply of adolescent girls and old people should be improved. As is well known, the utilization of trace elements is influenced by many dietetic and individual factors. Therefore, further investigations must be carried out to decide whether the analytically determined intake of trace elements guarantees an adequate supply or whether disturbances often occurring with a slight under-supply must be taken into consideration.