The Hottest Vitamin Under the Sun ( Part 2 )

U.S. dietary reference intake (DRI) guidelines established in 1997 by IOM recommend 200 IU/d of vitamin D through age 50, 400 IU/d for people ages 51 to 70 and 600 IU/d for those 71 and older. But many experts now say everyone likely needs more. For instance, in 2008, The American Academy of Pediatrics the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended breastfed infants receive supplements of 400 IU/d of vitamin D until they are weaned and consume more than 1,000 mL/d of vitamin D-fortified formula or whole milk.¹ All non-breastfed infants ingesting less than 1,000 mL/d of vitamin D-fortified formula or milk should receive a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU/d, they said. AAP also recommends older children and adolescents should take a 400 IU vitamin D supplement daily. In response, a new IOM panel is reviewing the recommendations on vitamin D and calcium and a report is expected in spring 2010.

Huang believes FDA will follow suit. “In 2010, we believe FDA will probably increase dramatically the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin D,” he said. “This will push further growth of vitamin D sales in functional foods and nutritional products.”

Those sought-after products will include dairy items as well as new innovations, said Diane Hnat, senior technical marketing manager DSM Nutritional Products.“Historically milk, margarine and ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal have been the most popular food delivery vehicles for vitamin D,” she said. “It is also allowed under the enrichment guidelines for grain products, and has picked up momentum with its additional approval in juice drinks with calcium.”

Those who formulate with vitamin D may want to invest in tests to ensure quality. “Product stability is very important in vitamin D products,” Huang said. “We have excellent stability test results to offer our customers. Also the impurities in the vitamin D are a concern, so we have utilized HPLC testing methods to assure the purity of our vitamin D products.”

The fat-soluble nature of the vitamin can also pose a challenge. “Vitamin D is fat-soluble so water-dispersible forms are required for many applications,” Hnat said. “The encapsulants’ capability to hold up during processing of foods like RTD meal replacements or processed cheese is important.”

Garner added it is less difficult to formulate vitamin D in supplements than in liquid forms. “While vitamin D is easy to process for supplements such as tablets, it is very demanding to make it part of any liquid formulation and/or clear and stable supplements,” he said. He noted NovaSOL D from Marco Hi-Tech is a water-soluble nutrient and therefore can be used in transparent liquids.

to be continued..................