How Do I Read a Food Label for Vitamin D Content?

Reading a food label for vitamin D content can be confusing. The vitamin D content of a food is found on the Nutrition Facts Panel on the food label and expressed as the % Daily Value. The Daily Value (DV) should not be confused with recommended intakes. As recommendations for vitamin D have been increased over the years to reflect new scientific findings, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Food labeling has not updated the Daily Value of 400 IU/day. The National Osteoporosis Foundation's 2007 Vitamin D recommendation for adults under age 50 is 400 to 800 IU/day and for adults age 50 and older is 800 to 1000 IU/day.  Although the Daily Value should not be considered the recommended intake for vitamin D, the %DV can be used to find out the vitamin D content of a food.

1.  Look for the Nutrition Facts Panel on the food label.

2.  It is important to know that on food labels, 100% Daily Value for vitamin D is 400 IU per day.

3.  Read the % Daily Value for vitamin D per serving. For example, 1 serving (8 ounces) milk contains 25% vitamin D.

4.  Calculate vitamin D content (IU per serving). For example, 25% vitamin D = 25% of 400 IU = 100 IU per serving.

5. It is important to read the ingredient list of fortified foods (foods with vitamin D added) to find out the type of vitamin D it contains. There are two types of vitamin D: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D 2 is a vegetarian source of vitamin D that is manufactured from yeast but is 4 to 9 times less bioactive (available to the body) than vitamin D3, an animal source of vitamin D manufactured from lanolin. Vitamin D3 is the preferable source of vitamin D for building and maintaining strong bones.

Sample Food Label