Mineral contents of some Korean foods in relation to comparison between Japanese and Korean food composition tables

Japanese and Korean food composition tables were compared for 51 food items, and 13 of the 51 items were purchased in Korea and brought to Japan for mineral (Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Na, K, Zn, Mn and Cu) analysis by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and fluorometry (for Se only) after ashing with concentrated HNO3 in high-pressure Teflon vessels. Energy content, protein, lipid and carbohydrate in both food composition tables were not significantly different from each other. The extents of discrepancy between the two tables were rather large with regard to minerals; Fe showed an especially large discrepancy. Upon comparison of measurements with food composition table values, Fe was also unique, i. e., many of the measured values were smaller than the Korean table values, while some of them were higher than the Japanese table values. These results suggest that 1) some Korean foods actually have a high Fe content and/or 2) Korean table values may overestimate the Fe contents of foods.