Vitamin D Food Fortification Strategies on Population-Based Dietary Intake Data Using Mixed-Integer Programming

Abstract

The dietary vitamin D intake of the Danish population is low, and food fortification is a strategy to increase intake. This paper explores the possibility of vitamin D fortification on the current population food intake in Denmark, such that the population receives adequate amounts of vitamin D without having to change current dietary patterns. A mixed-integer programming approach is used to arrive at a solution for the optimal fortification required at each food group level so that the majority of the population receive the minimum intake of average requirement (AR) and do not exceed the tolerable upper intake level (UL). The method shows a significant increase in vitamin D intake compared to the current scenario, keeping a neutral approach towards preferences of one food group over others. The method can also be fine-tuned in different scenarios where certain food group preferences are known, which can be encoded into the model in the form of constraints.