Iron, zinc and copper content of foods commonly consumed in Mexico.

Iron, zinc and copper content of foods commonly consumed in Mexico. Nutrien t composition in foods is necessary for the determination of nutrient intak e. Food composition tables used for dietary studies in Mexico do not have i nformation of zinc, iron and copper; when present the values have been extr apolated from laboratory analysis carried out with foods in other countries and regions of the world. In this study zinc, iron, and copper content of 104 plant foods and 32 animal foods was determined. The procedure used was atomic absorption spectrophotometry for the minerals. Foods were grouped in to cereals, vegetables, fruits, legumes and animal foods. Zinc content rang ed from 0.018 mg/100g for strawberry to 9.193 mg/100g for beef. Iron conten t ranged from 0.113 mg/100g for yogurth to 19.82 mg/100g for a comercial ce real which had minerals added during processing. In some foods copper was n ot found and the highest content was 3.371 mg/100g in beef liver. This stud y has provided information on zinc, iron and copper content of the most com monly consumed foods in Mexico.