Maximum levels of vitamins and minerals for safe addition to foods in the current diets of Koreans

Significant subgroups of Koreans were at risk of suboptimal intake of vitamins and minerals. Voluntary fortification was suggested to be an important means of alleviating micronutrient deficiencies. This study was conducted to estimate the levels of vitamins and minerals that can be safely added to foods by voluntary fortification. One day diet record data of 2,201 adult males aged 20–50 years drawn from the 2001 national nutrition survey were analyzed while considering the guidelines of the Institute of Medicine and the experiences by European Union (EU) and Canada. Selected food vehicles for voluntary fortification included all foods except for fresh non processed foods, alcoholic beverages, and widely used standardized staple foods and seasonings. The mean proportion of dietary energy from all potentially fortifiable foods was about 30%. The fractions of foods in the market available for fortification were assumed to be 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100%. With all of the fractions assumed, maximum levels of the addition of micronutrients to foods were greater than 100% Korean Recommended Dietary allowances (KRDAs) for vitamins B 12 , B 1 , niacin, B 2 , B 6 , E and C. With fortification of 50% of all potentially fortifiable foods, the maximum levels of the addition ranged 40–60% of the KRDAs for calcium, folic acid, iron and zinc. Results of this study suggest a wide range of micronutrients added safely to foods in the current diets of Koreans. (Supported by a grant from the Korean Food and Drug Administration, 2005)