The US Agricultural Research Service has launched a database that lists the level of fluoride in 400 separate food and beverage items in order to help researchers estimate the amount of fluoride that individuals consume daily.
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For more than half a century small amounts of fluoride have been added to many US municipal water supplies to prevent tooth decay. That fluoride, as well as naturally occurring fluoride from wells and other water sources, subsequently finds its way into water-based beverages and foods.
An Adequate Intake level has been set for fluoride at 3 milligrams (mgs) daily for women and 4 mgs daily for men. But until now, very little data existed on the quantity of fluoride in the national food supply.
The data is also part of a food and beverage intake survey tool now being developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC). That tool will be used to assess the amount of fluoride individuals consume from dietary and non-dietary sources, including fluoride supplements and toothpastes.
To access the USDA National Fluoride Database of Selected Beverages and Foods, click here.
The Agricultural Research Service is the US Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency.
