New data for vitamin D in Australian foods of animal origin: impact on estimates of national adult vitamin D intakes in 1995 and 2011-13.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the potential dietary supply of vitamin D to Australian adults by application of new data for Australian primary foods of animal origin. METHODS: New published analytical data on the vitamin D contents of Australian primary foods from animal products were obtained and assessed for reliability. Using food consumption data from Australian population dietary surveys for 1995 and 2011-2013, estimates were made of the likely average daily intakes of vitamin D equivalents from these sources by Australian adults. RESULTS: Meats, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy produce may alone have contributed about 4.2 μg vitamin D equivalents per day to average Australian diets of adults >18 years in 1995 and 4.3 μg in 2011-2013. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary vitamin D intake in Australia is likely to be higher than previously estimated because new data from improved analytical methods reveal the contributions to vitamin D supply from foods of animal origin. Absence of reliable vitamin D data for milk and milk products, and the gaps in vitamin D data for many commonly consumed seafood, poultry, eggs and processed animal products greatly limit estimation of dietary vitamin D intakes by Australians.