Search

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent worldwide and identification of alternative food-based strategies are urgently warranted. In two studies, 12-week old crossbred pigs (Duroc x (Large White x Landrace)) were exposed daily to narrowband UVB radiation for ∼10 weeks or control (no UVB exposure) until slaughter. In Study 1 (n = 48), pigs were exposed to UVB for 2 min and in Study 2 (n = 20), this duration was tripled to 6 min. All pigs were fed the maximum permitted 2000 IU vitamin D 3 /kg feed. Loin meat was cooked prior to vitamin D LC-MS/MS analysis. In Study 1, pork loin vitamin D 3 did not differ between groups. Study 2 provided longer UVB exposure time and resulted in significantly higher loin vitamin D 3 (11.97 vs. 6.03 μg/kg), 25(OH)D 3 (2.09 vs. 1.65 μg/kg) and total vitamin D activity (22.88 vs. 14.50 μg/kg) concentrations, compared to control (P < 0.05). Pigs remained healthy during both studies and developed no signs of erythema. Biofortification by UVB radiation provides an effective strategy to further safely increase the naturally occurring vitamin D content of pork loin, alongside feed supplementation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest EJM and RM were employed by the industrial partner Devenish Nutrition Ltd. The authors declare that this study received funding from Devenish Nutrition Ltd., in the form of a CAST PhD Studentship awarded to the lead author. The funder had the following involvement in the study: study design, review and approval of the final manuscript. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Vitamin D intakes are concerningly low. Food-based strategies are urgently warranted to increase vitamin D intakes and subsequently improve 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations. This acute randomised three-way crossover study investigated the efficacy of vitamin D biofortified pork derived from pigs exposed to UVB light to increase serum 25(OH)D 3 concentrations, compared to a dose-matched vitamin D 3 supplement and control pork in adults ( n  = 14). Blood samples were obtained at baseline and then 1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 24 h postprandially. There was a significant effect of time ( p  < 0.01) and a significant treatment*time interaction ( p  < 0.05). UV pork and supplement significantly increased within-group serum 25(OH)D 3 concentrations over timepoints ( p  < 0.05) (max. change 0.9 nmol/L (2.2%) UV pork, 1.5 nmol/L (3.5%) supplement, 0.7 nmol/L (1.9%) control). Vitamin D biofortified pork modestly increased 25(OH)D 3 concentrations and produced a similar response pattern as a dose-matched vitamin D supplement, but biofortification protocols should be further optimised to ensure differentiation from standard pork.

Vitamin D deficiency is a global concern, linked to suboptimal musculoskeletal health and immune function, with status inadequacies owing to variations in UV dependent cutaneous synthesis and limited natural dietary sources. Endogenous biofortification, alongside traditional fortification and supplement usage is urgently needed to address this deficit. Evidence reviewed in the current article clearly demonstrates that feed modification and UV radiation, either independently or used in combination, effectively increases vitamin D content of primary produce or ingredients, albeit in the limited range of food vehicles tested to date (beef/pork/chicken/eggs/fish/bread/mushrooms). Fewer human trials have confirmed that consumption of these biofortified foods can increase circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations ( n  = 10), which is of particular importance to avoid vitamin D status declining to nadir during wintertime. Meat is an unexplored yet plausible food vehicle for vitamin D biofortification, owing, at least in part, to its ubiquitous consumption pattern. Consumption of PUFA-enriched meat in human trials demonstrates efficacy ( n  = 4), lighting the way for exploration of vitamin D-biofortified meats to enhance consumer vitamin D status. Response to vitamin D-biofortified foods varies by food matrix, with vitamin D 3 -enriched animal-based foods observing the greatest effect in maintaining or elevating 25(OH)D concentrations. Generally, the efficacy of biofortification appears to vary dependent upon vitamer selected for animal feed supplementation (vitamin D 2 or D 3 , or 25(OH)D), baseline participant status and the bioaccessibility from the food matrix. Further research in the form of robust human clinical trials are required to explore the contribution of biofortified foods to vitamin D status.

Little is known regarding the impact of cooking on vitamin D content in pork, despite meat being a major contributor to vitamin D intakes. This paper investigated the effect of household cooking (pan-fry/roast/grill/sous-vide/sauté), on the vitamin D 3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 (25(OH)D 3 ) concentration/retention in pork loin, mince and sausages. We hypothesised that vitamin D concentrations would be higher in cooked vs raw pork, and retention would differ between products. Cooking significantly increased vitamin D 3 (+49 %) and 25(OH)D 3 (+33 %) concentrations. All cooked loin vitamin D 3 concentrations were significantly lower than mince/sausage. Vitamin D 3 retention was > 100 % for all samples (102-135 %), except sauté mince (99 %) which still did not differ significantly from 100 % retention. Sous-vide cooking resulted in the highest vitamin D 3 retention (135 %). Likely owing to water/fat loss, household cooking of pork results in favourable retention of vitamin D 3 and 25(OH)D 3 . The type of pork product has greater influence than cooking method., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent worldwide, with many populations failing to achieve the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for vitamin D (10-20 μg/day). Owing to low vitamin D intakes, limited exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) induced dermal synthesis, lack of mandatory fortification and poor uptake in supplement advice, additional food-based strategies are warranted to enable the UK population to achieve optimal vitamin D intakes, thus reducing musculoskeletal risks or suboptimal immune functioning. The aims of the current study were to (1) determine any changes to vitamin D intake and status over a 9-year period, and (2) apply dietary modeling to predict the impact of vitamin D biofortification of pork and pork products on population intakes. Data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (Year 1-9; 2008/09-2016/17) were analyzed to explore nationally representative mean vitamin D intakes and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations ( n = 13,350). Four theoretical dietary scenarios of vitamin D pork biofortification were computed (vitamin D content +50/100/150/200% vs. standard). Vitamin D intake in the UK population has not changed significantly from 2008 to 2017 and in 2016/17, across all age groups, 13.2% were considered deficient [25(OH)D <25 nmol/L]. Theoretically, increasing vitamin D concentrations in biofortified pork by 50, 100, 150, and 200%, would increase vitamin population D intake by 4.9, 10.1, 15.0, and 19.8% respectively. When specifically considering the impact on gender and age, based on the last scenario, a greater relative change was observed in males (22.6%) vs. females (17.8%). The greatest relative change was observed amongst 11-18 year olds (25.2%). Vitamin D intakes have remained stable in the UK for almost a decade, confirming that strategies are urgently required to help the population achieve the RNI for vitamin D. Biofortification of pork meat provides a proof of concept, demonstrating that animal-based strategies may offer an important contribution to help to improve the vitamin D intakes of the UK population, particularly adolescents., Competing Interests: EJM was employed by the industrial partner Devenish Nutrition Ltd. The authors declare that this study received funding from Devenish Nutrition Ltd., in the form of a CAST PhD Studentship awarded to the lead author. The funder had the following involvement in the study: review and approval of the final manuscript. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Neill, Gill, McDonald, McRoberts and Pourshahidi.)