History of the Food and Drug Administration's total diet study--1961 to 1987.

The Total Diet Study provides the Food and Drug Administration with baseline information on the levels of pesticide residues, contaminants, and nutrient elements in the food supply and in the diets of specific age-sex groups. The study also identifies trends and changes in the levels of these substances in the food supply and in diets over time and thereby assists in identifying potential public health problems. This paper describes the evolution of the Total Diet Study from 1961 to 1987. Food collections, sites of analysis, diets, food commodity groups, analytes, analytical methodologies, data transfer, publication of results, notable results, resources, and advantages of the study are discussed.