Neill, Holly R.Gill, Chris I.R.McDonald, Emma J.McRoberts, W. ColinPourshahidi, L. Kirsty2021-12-152021-12-152021-12-03Neill, H.R., Gill, C.I.R., McDonald, E.J., McRoberts, W.C. and Pourshahidi, L.K. (2021) ‘Vitamin D Biofortification of Pork May Offer a Food-Based Strategy to Increase Vitamin D Intakes in the UK Population’, Frontiers in Nutrition. Frontiers Media SA. doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.777364.2296-861Xhttps://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.777364Publication history: Accepted - 3 November 2021; Published online - 3 December 2021.Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent worldwide, with many populations failing to achieve the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for vitamin D (10–20 µg/day). Owing to low vitamin D intakes, limited exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) induced dermal synthesis, lack of mandatory fortification and poor uptake in supplement advice, additional food-based strategies are warranted to enable the UK population to achieve optimal vitamin D intakes, thus reducing musculoskeletal risks or suboptimal immune functioning. The aims of the current study were to (1) determine any changes to vitamin D intake and status over a 9-year period, and (2) apply dietary modeling to predict the impact of vitamin D biofortification of pork and pork products on population intakes. Data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (Year 1–9; 2008/09–2016/17) were analyzed to explore nationally representative mean vitamin D intakes and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (n = 13,350). Four theoretical dietary scenarios of vitamin D pork biofortification were computed (vitamin D content +50/100/150/200% vs. standard). Vitamin D intake in the UK population has not changed significantly from 2008 to 2017 and in 2016/17, across all age groups, 13.2% were considered deficient [25(OH)D < 25 nmol/L]. Theoretically, increasing vitamin D concentrations in biofortified pork by 50, 100, 150, and 200%, would increase vitamin population D intake by 4.9, 10.1, 15.0, and 19.8% respectively. When specifically considering the impact on gender and age, based on the last scenario, a greater relative change was observed in males (22.6%) vs. females (17.8%). The greatest relative change was observed amongst 11–18 year olds (25.2%). Vitamin D intakes have remained stable in the UK for almost a decade, confirming that strategies are urgently required to help the population achieve the RNI for vitamin D. Biofortification of pork meat provides a proof of concept, demonstrating that animal-based strategies may offer an important contribution to help to improve the vitamin D intakes of the UK population, particularly adolescentsen© 2021 Neill, Gill, McDonald, McRoberts and Pourshahidi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.cholecalciferol25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)National Diet and Nutrition Surveydietary modelingbio-additionmeatfeed supplementationUVB radiationArticle