Vitamin D(3) and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D(3) Content of Retail White Fish and Eggs in Australia

Dietary vitamin D may compensate for inadequate sun exposure; however, there have been few investigations into the vitamin D content of Australian foods. We measured vitamin D(3) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3)) in four species of white fish (barramundi, basa, hoki and king dory), and chicken eggs (cage and free-range), purchased from five Australian cities. Samples included local, imported and wild-caught fish, and eggs of varying size from producers with a range of hen stocking densities. Raw and cooked samples were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array. Limits of reporting were 0.2 and 0.1 μg/100 g for vitamin D(3) and 25(OH)D(3), respectively. The vitamin D(3) content of cooked white fish ranged from <0.1 to 2.3 μg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D(3) content ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 μg/100 g. The vitamin D(3) content of cooked cage eggs ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 μg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D(3) content ranged from 0.4 to 1.2 μg/100 g. The vitamin D(3) content of cooked free-range eggs ranged from 0.3 to 2.2 μg/100 g, and the 25(OH)D(3) content ranged from 0.5 to 0.8 μg/100 g. If, as has been suggested, 25(OH)D(3) has five times greater bioactivity than vitamin D(3), one cooked serve (100 g) of white fish, and one cooked serve of cage or free-range eggs (120 g) may provide 50% or 100%, respectively, of the current guidelines for the adequate intake of vitamin D (5 µg) for Australians aged 1–50 years.