Strategic food vehicles for vitamin D fortification and effects on vitamin D status: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

There has been growing interest in the potential of vitamin D food fortification in Europe as a means of addressing low vitamin D status. The WHO-FAO suggest that choosing a suitable food vehicle and ensuring the combination of the food vehicle and the fortificant will be efficacious and effective are of key importance to a successful food fortification program. Our key objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of various animal- and plant-based food vehicles fortified with vitamin D (as D₃ or D₂) on circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations. A list of prioritized food vehicles was established and we searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which used these vehicles individually, and which met prespecified criteria. The searches identified 49 papers which described suitable RCTs using vitamin D-fortified bread/savoury biscuits (n=5), orange juice (n=5), UV-mushrooms (n=8), cheese (n=3), yogurt (n=5), fluid milk (n=13), powdered milk (n=5), eggs (n=2), edible oils (n=4), or breakfast cereal (n=1). No suitable RCTs were identified for rice, maize flour, butter, margarine or dairy spreads, plant-based milk or yogurt alternatives. Random-effects meta-analyses of each food vehicle individually indicated weighted mean differences (WMD) in 25(OH)D in the range ~9-35 nmol/L (3-15 RCT arms, depending on vehicle), and all statistically significant (P<0.01-0.0001), with the exception of UV-mushrooms (P=0.06). Heterogeneity was variable (I²=33-99%, depending on vehicle), but subgroup analysis based on vitamer and dose reduced it in some instances. Sub-group analysis on the basis of whether the food vehicles were from plant-based or animal-based origin showed no significant difference in WMD (15.2 versus 15.9 nmol/L, respectively; P=0.48). These results support the use of various animal- and plant-based food vehicles for vitamin D fortification to improve circulating 25(OH)D concentrations in populations.

This work was registered with PROSPERO as CRD42023439883.