Food sources of copper (copper-rich foods)

About 97% of foods contained copper. On the basis of the proposed method, the average (%) of foods containing appropriate copper levels in food groups was 41.24%, of which 23.92% was the average of copper source (good source of copper) foods, and 17.32% was the average of high copper (excellent source of copper) foods. Legumes and legume products with 95.3%, nut and seed products with 91.85%, baby foods with 87.64%, lamb, veal, and game products with 69.2%, breakfast cereals with 58.47%, and cereal grains and pasta with 55.8% had the highest averages of foods containing appropriate copper levels. Foods containing appropriate copper levels were found in all food groups, excluding fats and oils and spices and herbs. Foods containing appropriate copper levels included foods of plant and animal origin. However, few numbers of foods containing appropriate copper levels were copper-fortified foods.

The highest amounts of copper were found in liver, kidney, heart, beef sweetbread, oyster, squid, oyster stew, whelk, rowal fruit, northern lobster, potato skins, sesame butter, kale, whole sesame seeds, soy-based protein powder, winged bean tuber, mushrooms, soy vermicelli, pork rump ham, crab, winged beans, cuttlefish, veal spleen, beef spleen, soy chips or soy crisps, breadnut tree seeds, cashew butter, milk-based protein supplement (copper-fortified), cashew nuts, quail meat, squab or pigeon meat, dove meat, whey protein powder isolate (copper-fortified), vegetarian fillets, turkey giblets, octopus, soy flour, meatless meatballs, meatless chicken, clam, crayfish, soybeans, Steller sea lion meat, peanut butter, sunflower seed kernels, hearts of palm, mixed nuts, cocoa-rich chocolate, chocolate instant breakfast powder (copper-fortified), hazelnuts or filberts, safflower seed kernels, Brazil nuts, sunflower seed butter, chocolate soymilk, spirulina seaweed, nutrition shake (copper-fortified), meatless luncheon slices, papad, buckwheat, Canada goose meat, baking chocolate, hemp seeds, tempeh, English walnut, hyacinth beans, and pink or red lentils. Since cocoa is high in copper, the presence of cocoa in foods such as chocolate and chocolate-containing foods increases the copper content of these foods.

Suggested citation: Forouzesh, Abed; Forouzesh, Fatemeh; Samadi Foroushani, Sadegh; Forouzesh, Abolfazl; Zand, Eskandar. A new method for calculating copper content and determining appropriate copper levels in foods. Revista Chilena de Nutricion 2021;48:862–873.