EVALUATION OF CALCIUM IN CHEESE FOR RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE

ABSTRACT
Cheese, a popular food across many cultures has been subject of many studies. It’s of many variants, providing huge nutritional value to humans. One of those many nutrients is calcium. Calcium helps the body in building bone structures amongst other important functions. In this study, we aimed at determining the proportion of calcium content in cheese. Thus, recommending a daily intake of cheese for Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for calcium. Samples of Cheese were collected from five zones in the Lagos environs. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Titrimetric methods were used for determining the calcium content. The two methods used in this analysis have showed to be appropriate for the determination of calcium in cheese. From the results, the calcium contents inn local cheese (Wara) determined in the experiment ate within the permissible and allowable limit of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAS) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Thus, a recommended daily intake of local cheese for Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for calcium was given in Table 4.2. This recommendation conforms to that of the standard dietary allowance of calcium in the body.