Even sugar can be fortified by a special form of Vitamin D

A blueprint for vitamin D fortification in sugar: stability and health impact

Front. Nutr.Volume 12 - 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1671785

Hardinsyah Hardinsyah, Rahmawati Rahmawati, Ahmad Sulaeman. Fahrul Nurkolis (Indonesia)

Table ofContents

Vitamin D deficiency is a global health concern, and fortifying widely consumed staples offers a scalable solution. Granulated sugar, accessible across socio-economic groups, shows promise as a novel vehicle for cholecalciferol delivery. Evidence indicates that vitamin D3 stability can be maintained through encapsulation and protective packaging, with over 90% potency retained under proper storage.

Fortified sugar demonstrates good bioavailability, achieving absorption comparable to dairy products , and could increase serum 25(OH)D by 10–20 nmol/L at the population level. While offering low-cost impact, fortification requires careful dosing, quality control, and public education to mitigate risks of hypervitaminosis and prevent misperceptions that sugar itself is a health food.

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Study points out short shelf life if hot and humid (sugar is often keep on kitchen shelf for many months)

"Data from fortified wheat flour show that vitamin D3’s half-life is about 173 days under dry conditions (ap 0.33, 25 ◦C), falling to 116 days in high humidity(ap 0.93) and just 63 days at 45 ◦C"

How much might ecapsulation or nanoemulation forms improve the half life in hot or humid conditions?

Related in Vitamin D Life

• Vitamin D can fortify a variety of food and drinks – even beer – March 2012

• Vitamin D fortification of foods, cosmetics, by mfg and at home (India) - Sept 2014

• Rationale and Plan for Vitamin D Food Fortification - July 2018

• Fortification with Vitamin D works – 16 studies of Danish experience – July 2021

• After years of vitamin D fortification and supplementation, Finland has 38 ng levels - March 2022

• Bread fortified with Vitamin D - many studies

• Response to Vitamin D fortification varies from 1 to 10 nmol per 100 IU daily – review Aug 2023

• Vitamin D – food fortification around the world, types of microencapsulation – Feb 2020

• Vitamin D significantly improved by encapsulation – Sept 2024

• Microencapsulated Vitamin D better than oil-based in 6 ways – Sept 2023

  Fortification with Vitamin D which includes

• Vitamin D microencapsulation and fortification: Trends and technologies. - Oct 2019

• Govts, food producers, and families can fortify:

  • milk,   yogurt,   beer,   bread,  cereals,  cooking oil,  soups,  jams,   jellys,   honey,   snack bars, etc.

3 Typical fortification errors (which can be avoided)

1. Only a single food group is fortified
   •     e.g. fortify dairy with half of the population is lactose intolerant

2. Too little is given due to valid concern that 1 in 10,000 will get a bad reaction if everyone gets it

3. Forification is mandatory - the 1 in 10,000 who have a problem cannot buy an unfortified form

   •     1 in 10,000 have a poor gene that results in accumulating Vitamin D