Table 1.
Iron present in the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies V2 (DQESv2) Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) flesh foods and mixed foods and the intakes of these food items by Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH) young cohort women in the study sample at survey three (baseline).
| Flesh Food or Mixed Food (FFQ) | Total Iron (mg/100 g) | Haem Iron (mg/100 g) | Median Food Item Intake at Survey Three (g/Day) | Median Haem Iron Intake at Survey Three (mg/Day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 2.8 | 1.7 | 28 | 0.48 |
| Lamb | 2.4 | 1.4 | 9 | 0.13 |
| Veal | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pork | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.02 |
| Ham | 1.4 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.03 |
| Sausages/Frankfurters | 2.5 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.03 |
| Bacon | 1.1 | 0.7 | 3 | 0.02 |
| Salami | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.01 |
| Chicken | 1.2 | 0.7 | 26 | 0.18 |
| Fish; fried | 0.7 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.01 |
| Fish; steamed, grilled, or baked | 0.4 | 0.3 | 9 | 0.03 |
| Fish; canned | 1.4 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.02 |
| Hamburger * | 2.5 | 0.9 | 4 | 0.04 |
| Pizza † | 1.3 | 0.3 | 16 | 0.05 |
| Pies ‡ | 1.2 | 0.2 | 12 | 0.02 |
Total Iron values from the DQESv2 database. Haem iron values generated from Rangan et al.’s experimentally determined haem contents for Australian meat and fish [17]. Food types from Rangan et al. that were used or averaged to determine haem contents (%) of DQESv2 flesh food items were: mince, rump steak, skirt steak, and rib roast for Beef and Veal (62%); chicken breast and thigh for Chicken (62%); lamb chop and lamb leg for Lamb (60.5%); pork chop for Pork (66%); ham for Ham (61%); bacon for Bacon (67%): beef sausage for Sausages or Frankfurters and Salami (36%); Snapper for fried, steamed/grilled/baked Fish (63%); Tuna for Canned fish (18%). For mixed food items, the assumptions and calculations follow: * Hamburger calculations: DQESv2 weight is 190 g, assume 105 g meat patty from the average of burger company websites (iron content from NUTTAB 3.99 mg), 60 g white roll (iron content 0.78 mg), thus iron for the total burger is 4.8 mg (2.5 mg/100 g) and iron from the meat patty is 3.99/4.8 = 83%. Rangan et al. [17] stated that the average of beef mince and sausage equals 42% haem, so the haem iron content of hamburger is (2.5 mg/100 g) × 0.83 × 0.42 = 0.86 mg haem iron/100 g. † Pizza calculations: DQESv2 weight is 278.8 g and total iron is 1.32 mg/100 g. Iron content Pizza base from NUTTAB is 1.3 mg/100 g. Assume the meat on pizza is 1.6 mg/100 g iron (average salami is 2.0 mg/100 g and ham is 1.4 mg/100 g) and assume the crust is 47% of the weight of the pizza (based on carbohydrate content of DQESv2 Pizza and NUTTAB pizza base 25/52.6); thus 1.3 × 0.47 = 0.61 mg iron from crust and 1.3 − 0.61 = 0.69 mg iron from the toppings (assumes all iron from toppings is from the meat, as the iron content of cheese and vegetables is minimal); Average haem iron content for salami (61%) and ham (36%) is 48.5%, thus the haem content of Pizza is 0.69 mg × 0.485 = 0.34 mg/100 g. ‡ Pie calculations: DQESv2 weight is 169.3 g and total iron is 1.21 mg/100 g. The Australian minimum standard for meat content is 25%, but the survey results show up to 38%, so assume 30% meat content. Using 48% haem content for minced beef [17], haem content pie is 1.21 mg × 0.30 × 0.48 = 0.17 mg/100 g.