What is the Total Diet Study (TDS)?
TDS samples consist of a representative consumer diet and are collected from locations throughout the UK. Normal culinary preparation techniques for food are used (e.g. removal of outer leaves of leafy vegetables if necessary) and samples are combined in amounts that reflect the relative importance of each type of food in the average UK diet. These samples are analysed for a range of contaminants including radionuclides. Using the results of concentrations of radionuclides in these samples we can calculate the dose to consumers of the average diet from the UK food supply.
