It is conducted in cooperation with the States and the Northern Territory health departments. The ATDS was previously named the Australian Market Basket Survey, and has been conducted in Australia since 1970. Conducting the survey The ATDS estimates the level of dietary exposure of Australian consumers to a range of pesticide residues and contaminants found in the food supply.
Dietary exposure is the intake of pesticide residues and contaminants from food.
The Australian Government Analytical Laboratories carried out all analyses. Sixty-nine types of foods were tested for pesticide residues and contaminant content. The foods were sampled during the 1998 calendar year in different States and the Northern Territory. Some foods were sampled at four different times throughout the year. All foods were screened for the contaminants antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, tin and zinc.