Adding vitamin D in milk

Milk normally contains vitamin D, but the amount varies with cow’s diet, and with her exposure to sunlight.

Milk has a relatively low content of vitamin D particularly in the winter. Summer milk may have approximately 30 IU in each quart but in winter, the content falls very much below this level. The vitamin D level in milk may be raised by simply adding the milk a dispersible preparation of the vitamin.

This generally is accomplished by adding a concentrate to the milk, prior to pasteurization, to increase the potency to at least 400 IU of vitamin D per quart of milk.

Pasteurization of milk and sterilization of evaporate milk do not destroy vitamin D. Most of the milk consumed in the United States contains added vitamin D.
Adding vitamin D in milk

Vitamin fortification of milk

Many milk are fortified with vitamins A and D. Vitamin D is found naturally in very few foods and was initially added to milk, a staple food, to reduce the incidence of rickets, a bone-softening condition in children that was at one time endemic in North America. Unfortified cow’s milk traditionally has been regarded as a poor source of vitamin D, supplying 5 to 35 IU/liter.

Before the fortification of milk was widely practice, many children grew up with severely bowed legs and other effects of vitamin D deficiency.

Another benefit of vitamin D supplementation is a lower rate of osteomalacia in the elderly, which is largely responsible for bone fractures. Studies showed that vitamin D might have other health benefits including improvement of the immune response.

The fortification of dried skim milk with vitamin A is viewed by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization was an important measure to combat vitamin A deficiency in developing countries, where 20, 000 to 100, 000 children yearly develop blindness from a lack of vitamin A in their diet.
Vitamin fortification of milk

Vitamin fortification of foods

Food fortification is the addition of nutrients to foods without the intention of replacing nutrients lost in preparation. The added nutrient may or may not have been present in the original food.

An evaluation of the possible health impact of niacin fortification of cereal grains in the US showed that fortification played a significant role in the decline so pellagra attributed mortality in the 1930s and 1940s and finally in the elimination of pellagra in the country.

In 1992, US FDA ruled that all cereal grain products be fortified with 140 μg folic acid per 100 g, and that additional of folic acid be allowed for breakfast cereals, infant formulae, medical and specials dietary foods and meal replacement products.

The US folate-fortification program increased folate intakes and more than doubled circulating levels of the vitamin, reduced plasma Hcy levels, and reduced the incidence of NTDs (neural tube defects).

Folate fortification is also reported to be associated with a 60% reduction in neuroblastoma, and embryonic tumor, among Canadian children.
Vitamin fortification of foods

Food fortification with vitamin A

Food fortification involves adding nutrients to foods in order to maintain or improve the quality of the diet of a targeted group or population.

WHO has a goal of worldwide elimination of vitamin A deficiency and its tragic consequences, including blindness, disease and premature death.

The combination of breastfeeding and vitamin A food fortification holds the promise of achieving combating vitamin deficiency.

The aims is to add vitamin A to a regularly dietary constituent of the targeted population at a specified level that will correct an existing dietary deficiency without posing significant risks of overdosing those who habitually consume the largest quantity of the fortified product.

Food fortification is a highly effectively strategy to correct underlying low intake of vitamin A and is widely used in developing countries to prevent deficiencies of multiple nutrients.

Vitamin A fortification of staple foods, such as margarine and sugar has made significant stride since eradicating blindness and promoting growth in children in developing countries.

Although fortification can take several years to initiate and longer still to penetrate poor markets and reach sufficient proportions of those at risk, some priority countries have made significant progress.

Food fortification with vitamin A