Haem and non-haem iron in British household diets

The amounts of haem iron, natural non-haem iron and the iron added to foods have been calculated for the average household diet and for larger families in Britain. The average intakes (/person/day) were found to be 1.3 mg haem iron and 9.7 mg non-haem iron, of which 1.1 mg were from fortification; corresponding values in families with four or more children were 0.8 mg, 8.6 mg and 1.2 mg. These lead to estimates that the amount of iron absorbed may be no higher than 0.8 mg on average and 0.6 mg/person/day in large families, or 6-7 per cent of the intake. Such values are less than those usually assumed.