Bioaccessibility of essential elements from white cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables

Bioaccessibility of five essential micronutrients (iron, zinc, copper, manganese and molybdenum) from the Lebanese food basket including bread, different varieties of white cheese, fruit and vegetables was evaluated using the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model. Only very small fraction of Fe and Zn (ca. 10%) was found bioaccessible from bread, squash and cucumber. Iron in apple was not bioaccessible either (<10%) but apples were found to be a good source of Zn (56%). Most of iron (>50%) in cheese was found to be bioaccessible but only one type of cheese, double crème, contained readily bioaccessible zinc. More than 50% of copper and molybdenum was found bioaccessible regardless of the investigated food. High bioaccessibility (>50%) was also observed for manganese in fruit and vegetables whereas that from bread and cheese was fair (25–30%).