Consumption of plant sterols in Belgium: estimated intakes and sources of naturally occurring plant sterols and β-carotene.

The objective of the present study was to assess the intake of naturally occurring plant sterols and β-carotene via the overall diet of Belgian pre-school children and adults. Two different Belgian food consumption databases were used: (1) one with consumption data of pre-school children (2·5-6·5 years old) and (2) one with consumption data of adults ( ≥ 15 years old). These consumption data were combined with a newly developed database containing the plant sterol and β-carotene content in all relevant food items based on international food composition databases and scientific literature. The results show that Flemish pre-school children have a median plant sterol intake of 172 (interquartile range (IQR) = 47) and 184 (IQR = 52) mg/d for girls and boys, respectively. Their median β-carotene intake was 1857 (IQR = 1250) μg/d, without significant difference between girls and boys. Belgian women and men have a median plant sterol intake of 218 (IQR = 113) and 280 (IQR = 158) mg/d, respectively, and a median β-carotene intake of 2086 (IQR = 1254) μg/d (not significantly different between the sexes). The main food source of naturally occurring plant sterols was bread and other cereal products. For β-carotene, the main food source was vegetables.