The 234 foods from a 1984 collection of the Food and Drug Administration's Total Diet Study were analyzed for the trace elements molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, and strontium by plasma emission spectrometry. Daily intakes of these elements were then estimated for eight age-sex groups on the basis of results from national food consumption surveys. The contribution of food commodity groups to the daily intake of the five elements and the distribution of the elements in the 234 foods were also determined. Results from this study were compared with those reported earlier from other laboratories.