Regulatory frameworks for copper considering chronic exposures of the population.

Copper is an essential nutrient that is toxic in excess. Copper intakes from a balanced diet appear to meet the needs of most healthy individuals, because overt deficiency and toxicity are rare. Some uncertainty, however, persists because of limitations in currently available biomarkers used to assess copper status and the paucity of data available to establish tolerable upper levels of intake. Current policies and regulations pertaining to food fortification, nutritional supplements, and drinking water appear to be effective in providing for adequate copper intakes in many populations, although high levels of exposure, through overzealous fortification, supplementation, or drinking water exposure, may be possible under some circumstances. Surveillance and monitoring programs to evaluate copper exposures of human populations should continue and should be refined as new biomarkers become available.