Analysis of consumption of home-produced foods

One of the potential exposure pathways of concern when assessing human expo sures to environmental contaminants is the ingestion of contaminated foods. Individuals who live near contaminated sites and who grow their own food m ay be at a higher risk than the general population. Estimating exposures; t o this subpopulation requires an analysis of homegrown food intake rates. T he Nationwide Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) 1987-1988 data were used to ge nerate intake rates for home-produced foods. Results of the analysis show t hat, among the general population, homegrown vegetables ( 18%) were the mos t commonly consumed of the major food groups, followed by fruit (8%), meat (5%), fish (2%), and dairy products (0.8%). The intake rates for the major food groups vary according to region, age, urbanization, and race. In gener al, intake rates of home-produced foods are higher among populations in non metropolitan and suburban areas and lowest in central city areas.