Consumption data
Data on the level of consumption of specific seafood commodities in Australia were used to adjust the estimates of likelihood of adverse health effects, to take into account relative exposure to hazards in different seafood commodities in the general population.
Consumption figures were derived from the results of the 1995 National Nutrition Survey of Australia, using FSANZ’s dietary modelling computer program, DIAMOND. The National Nutrition Survey collected data from 13 858 respondents, using a 24-hour food recall method. Data on consumption of seafood commodities are presented as mean and 95th percentile consumption amounts along with the number and percentage of respondents who ate that seafood commodity in the survey period (Appendix 3). Some limited frequency of consumption data were also collected as part of the National Nutrition Survey, but only covered a few broad food categories and were of limited value to this assessment.
Food-borne illnesses due to microbial hazards are almost always related to single exposure episodes or consumption on a single day. As such, the 24-hour recall data provide critical insights into the reach of the likely exposure over age/gender groups, the extent of the exposure in terms of individuals exposed and the dose of the exposure in terms of the portion eaten. Here, the long-term intake is not an important factor, so absence of frequency of consumption data is not a major limitation to the ranking. In this case, only sample size is a limitation for obtaining precise estimates for relatively rare events.
A limitation of the National Nutrition Survey method is that it tends to over-estimate habitual food consumption amounts for high consumers. In particular, for foods that people tend to consume less than once a week (for example, molluscs and crustacea), consumption figures derived from a 24-hour recall may be higher for most consumers than if consumption amounts were averaged over a longer time frame that better reflects habitual consumption of these foods.
For metals and toxins, the likelihood estimates are based on the dietary modelling conducted by ANZFA for the review of the Code [4,5,7].
Statistics on production, import and export of seafood commodities, such as those available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – the Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs series – and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics – the Australian Fisheries Statistics series – were also considered, where appropriate. These data sources provide useful information on the gross amount of seafood available for consumption each year in Australia, but do not contain any insight into the frequency, prevalence or levels of consumption of these commodities within the Australian population such as is provided by the National Nutrition Survey data.
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