Intake of Vitamins and Minerals from Voluntarily Fortified Foods in School Children in Central-Eastern Poland

Abstract

Abstract. Objective: To estimate vitamin and mineral intakes from voluntarily fortified foods (VFFs) in relation to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in children aged 6 – 12. Methods: The study was conducted among 677 school children from Central-Eastern Poland. Data on VFFs consumption were collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire containing 58 food items available on the Polish market; the content of nutrients in VFFs was estimated using the producers labelling declaration. The amounts of nutrients consumed from VFFs were compared to DRI and Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs). The distribution of nutrient intakes according to the percentage of DRI categories (<20%, 20 – 39.9%, 40 – 59.9%, 60 – 79.9%, 80 – 99.9%, 100 – 119%, and >120%) was investigated. Results: In our study, 78.3% (n = 530) of children were classified as VFF-consumers. The most often consumed groups of VFFs were cereal products and juices/non-alcoholic beverages (92.5% and 76.6% of children, respectively). The amounts of vitamin D intake were negligible (92.5% of children did not exceed 20% of DRI from VFFs); vitamins A, E, B12 and calcium were small (>60% did not exceed 40% of DRI); vitamins B1, B2, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid and iron were moderate (>25% consumed 80% of DRI or above); while vitamins C, B6 and biotin were high (>40% consumed 100% of DRI or above). Intake above ULs was observed for niacin and folic acid (2.6% and 1.1% of children, respectively). Conclusions: Substantial differences between the VFFs contribution of various micronutrients to the DRIs were observed. Consumption of VFFs may prevent inadequate intakes for the majority of nutrients. Keywords: children, DRI, inadequate intake, minerals, fortified foods, vitamins