ARE POTATO FRENCH FRIES A GOOD SOURCE OF TRACE ELEMENTS?

The annual consumption of potato french fries in Poland accounts for ca. 4 kg per capita and they occupy an important place in an everyday diet of the Poles. In the menus of over 10% of consumers, french fries occur once a week and more often, with the consumers usually being young persons between the ages of 15-24 years. Apart from energetic compounds, potato french fries provide proteins, vitamins and such macroelements as potassium and magnesium. They also contain microelements that occurred in the raw material they were made of. Available literature offers sparse data on the level of microelements in french fries. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the levels of iron, copper, zinc and manganese in potato french fries originating from various domestic producers. Additional analyses were carried out for the degree of meeting a safe level of intake of trace elements stipulated for youth aged 13-15 years after the consumption of a 200-g ration of this product. The study demonstrated that the levels of manganese and copper in the french fries were considerable. French fries were found to be a good source of those elements, and to a lesser extent of iron and zinc.