Vitamin D deficiency is a growing concern in the UK with many failing to consume the recommended nutrient intake of 10–20 μg/day(Reference Neill, Gill and McDonald1). Meat and meat products are one of the largest contributors to vitamin D intakes in the UK, of which, pork and pork products are among the top three most commonly consumed(2). Therefore, it is important to understand the total vitamin D content of such products currently available to consumers. The aim of this study was to quantify vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 concentrations in commercial pork products; bacon, sausages, and gammon, in comparison to McCance and Widdowson composition of foods integrated dataset (CoFID)(3).
Branded pork products: unsmoked streaky bacon, unsmoked back bacon, thick sausages, and unsmoked prime gammon joint (3 packs of each), were provided by a local producer (Karro Food Group, Cookstown, UK). All products were oven roasted (180°C) until an internal temperature of >75°C was reached. Cooked samples were homogenised thoroughly by product type and stored at -80°C prior to analysis. Cooked samples (n = 3; 1 sample per pack) were analysed in duplicate by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)(Reference Neill, Gill and McDonald1) for vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 concentrations (μg/100g). Vitamin D activity was calculated: vitamin D3 + 25(OH)D3 x 5(Reference Cashman4).
The mean ± SD vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 concentrations of each product (per 100g) were quantified as follows: back bacon (0.25 ± 0.06 and 0.11 ± 0.01 μg); streaky bacon (0.32 ± 0.04 and 0.15 ± 0.03 μg); sausages (0.66 ± 0.01 and 0.13 ± 0.01 μg), and gammon (0.60 ± 0.02 and 0.15 ± 0.01 μg), respectively. One Sample T-Test revealed a higher vitamin D activity in sausages and gammon (per 100g), in comparison to comparable data published in CoFID(3): sausages (1.32 ± 0.03 vs 1.1 μg, P = 0.007) and gammon (1.34 ± 0.08 vs 0.8 μg, P = 0.007). In bacon, vitamin D activity was not significantly different compared to
CoFID(3) values: back bacon (0.81 ± 0.11 vs 0.6 μg, P = 0.079); streaky bacon (1.05 ± 0.17 vs 0.7 μg, P = 0.064).
Vitamin D concentrations may vary between pork products owing to differences in animal husbandry practices (e.g., indoor vs outdoor housing/feed composition), processing techniques (e.g., fat trimming) and/or analytical factors (e.g., range of samples analysed/method of quantification)(Reference Neill, Gill and McDonald5). Data within the current analysis may inform future new product development (e.g., products targeted for biofortification or another reformulation). Continued monitoring of food composition data including a larger range of samples is warranted to ensure food composition data are reflective of current nutrient supply within the food supply chain.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Agri-Food Quest Competence Centre (AFQCC), supported by Devenish Nutrition Limited and conducted in collaboration with Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute (AFBI). First Author funded by Department of Economy (DfE) PhD studentship at Ulster University.
