Cheese fortified with vitamin D

Yes, some cheeses have virtually no lactose, and so can be eaten by people who are lactose intollerant
Yes, Vitamin D can be added to cheese without affecting its taste, texture, color, etc.

   Wonder when companies will get around to fortifying cheese with vitamin D?


Clinical Trial Vitamin D Fortified Cheese and Well-being in the Institutionalized Elderly

Eat 50 grams of cheese per week = 28,000 IU =4,000 IU per day
Clinical trial was to have been completed April 2012
Investigator: Reinhold Vieth previously authored The Bioavailability of Vitamin D from Fortified Cheeses and Supplements Is Equivalent in Adults 2008
These data demonstrate that vitamin D is equally bioavailable from fortified hard cheeses and supplements, making cheese suitable for vitamin D fortification.


Milk can contain up to 84 IU per 100 grams - FDA, 2016

Vitamin D for Milk and Milk Alternatives


Fortification of Cheddar cheese with vitamin D does not alter cheese flavor perception (400 IU - June 2011)

B. GanesanCorresponding Author Contact Information, a, E-mail The Corresponding Author, C. Brothersena and D.J. McMahona
a Western Dairy Center, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, Utah State University, Logan 84322
Received 18 November 2010; accepted 28 March 2011. Available online 22 June 2011.

Currently, dietary guidelines for vitamin D consumption are under review, considering new information that >50% of the US population is vitamin D deficient, and may lead to a recommendation of a higher dietary intake of this vitamin. Vitamin D fortification of cheese aims to improve the current availability of fortified dairy foods beyond liquid milk.

However, cheese is susceptible to undesirable flavor changes during long-term cheese ripening, and cheese bacteria and enzymes may degrade added vitamins. To test the retention of vitamin D3 in Cheddar cheese curd, cheese milk was fortified initially during manufacture at a level of 150 IU/serving, using commercial sources that contained vitamin D3 in powder, oil, or emulsion form, with and without homogenization of the fortified milk. When fortification was done directly to the cheese milk, we found that more than 80% vitamin D3 was retained in cheese curd, irrespective of homogenization or form of fortification.

Further, Cheddar cheese was fortified with the emulsion form of vitamin D3 directly in cheese milk at 200 and 400 IU/serving to test stability and flavor changes. Vitamin D3 fortified in this manner was stable for up to 9 mo in Cheddar cheese. Consumer acceptance and descriptive analysis of flavor profiles of cheese were also conducted and showed that vitamin D3 fortified cheeses were equally liked by consumers, and cheese taste and flavor remained unaltered with vitamin D3 addition even after aging for 9 mo.


Fortification of cheese with vitamin D3 using dairy protein emulsions as delivery systems (200 IU Sept 2012)

Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 95, Issue 9 , Pages 4768-4774, September 2012
M. Tippetts, S. Martini, C. Brothersen, D.J. McMahon
Received 10 November 2011; accepted 9 May 2012.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that is synthesized when the body is exposed to sunlight or after the consumption of fortified foods and supplements. The purpose of this research was to increase the retention of vitamin D3 in Cheddar cheese by incorporating it as part of an oil-in-water emulsion using a milk protein emulsifier to obtain a fortification level of 280 IU/serving.
Four oil-in-water vitamin D emulsions were made using

  1. sodium caseinate,
  2. calcium caseinate,
  3. nonfat dry milk (NDM), or
  4. whey protein.

These emulsions were used to fortify milk, and the retention of vitamin D3 in cheese curd in a model cheesemaking system was calculated.
A nonemulsified vitamin D3 oil was used as a control to fortify milk.
Significantly more vitamin D3 was retained in the curd when using the emulsified vitamin D3 than the nonemulsified vitamin D3 oil (control). No significant differences were observed in the retention of vitamin D3 when emulsions were formulated with different emulsifiers.

Mean vitamin D3 retention in the model system cheese curd was 96% when the emulsions were added to either whole or skim milk compared with using the nonemulsified oil, which gave mean retentions of only 71% and 64% when added to whole and skim milk, respectively. A similar improvement in retention was achieved when cheese was made from whole and reduced-fat milk using standard manufacturing procedures on a small scale. When sufficient vitamin D3 was added to produce cheese containing a target level of approximately 280 IU per 28-g serving, retention was greater when the vitamin D3 was emulsified with NDM than when using nonemulsified vitamin D3 oil.

Only 58±3% of the nonemulsified vitamin D3 oil was retained in full-fat Cheddar cheese, whereas 78±8% and 74±1% were retained when using the vitamin D3 emulsion in full-fat and reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, respectively.


See also VitaminDWiki

See also web

  • The Science of Cheese Is Far Weirder Than You Think Wired, March 2014
    nearly all of the lactose in cheese is removed during manufacturing and aging
    The articles is a teaser for the author's book - The Science of Cheese
  • Lactose content of foods Wikipedia March 2014
    A few: Milk 4%, Cottage Cheese 1%, Butter 1%, Sharp Cheese 0.1% (40X less than that of milk)
  • The Really BIG List of Lactose Percentages has lots of detail, here are a few highlights
    As a rule of thumb, the higher the fat content, the lower the lactose content.
    Anything below 2% lactose can be tolerated well by the majority of those with LI. As long as you don't really overdo it.
    Aged cheeses always have lower lactose than younger cheeses.

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