This report collates information on the breadth and range of vitamin D fortified foods in New Zealand, technological issues associated with vitamin D fortification, and methodological issues associated with analyses of vitamin D in different food matrices.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that can be synthesised in the body through exposure to sunlight or obtained through eating foods that are naturally good sources of Vitamin D. A deficiency of vitamin D can lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia (poor bone mineralisation) and osteoporosis (bone loss) in adults. Research suggests that vitamin D may also play a role in the prevention of certain cancers.

Cholecalciferol, or ‘vitamin’ D as it is commonly referred to, is a popular research topic.
While it has long been known that vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children, there is now renewed interest in this pro-hormone as potential health roles for vitamin D increase, with a concomitant rise in prevalence estimates for insufficiency. An informed discussion on vitamin D by public health professionals is now especially relevant because of recent evidence that many New Zealanders have low vitamin D status (1, 2).