You review a national nutrition survey and find that many subgroups lack specific DRIs for certain trace elements. What is the best policy recommendation based on limitations of DRIs?

• A. Identify research priorities to generate evidence for setting DRIs for those trace elements, and in the interim use food-based guidance and caution around supplements rather than assuming adequacy or safety.
• B. Immediately set provisional RDAs at arbitrary high values to ensure everyone consumes more of the trace elements until formal DRIs are published.
• C. Create ULs only for the missing trace elements based on best guesses, because safety values can be established without evidence of adequacy.
• D. Assume that absence of a DRI indicates the nutrient is nonessential and remove it from fortification and monitoring programs completely.

Answer: (A)