Vitamin D content in canned fish products available on the Serbian market

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency remain significant public health concerns in Serbia, as dietary intake is generally inadequate and only a limited number of foods naturally contain substantial amounts of vitamin D. Canned fish products are among the most important dietary sources of this vitamin. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the adequate intake (AI) of vitamin D for adults is 15 µg/day. The aim of this study was to determine the vitamin D content in canned fish products available on the Serbian market and to estimate their contribution to the adequate daily intake. Vitamin D content was determined using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled to photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA). Thirty canned tuna samples and seventeen canned sardine samples collected from the Serbian market were analyzed. The vitamin D content in canned tuna ranged from 1.01 to 9.22 µg/100 g, while canned sardines contained 2.19 to 10.65 µg/100 g. Consequently, a 100 g serving of canned tuna provided approximately 6.7-61.5% of the EFSA adequate intake, whereas a 100 g serving of canned sardines provided 14.6-71.0% of the adequate daily intake. The obtained results indicate considerable variability in vitamin D content among commercially available canned fish products. Nevertheless, canned sardines and tuna may be valuable dietary sources of vitamin D and can substantially contribute to adequate daily intake in the Serbian population.