Vitamin D Fortification of Dairy Products in the United Kingdom: What Are the Barriers?

Given the inadequate vitamin D intake and status in the United Kingdom population, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recognized the difficulty of achieving a reference nutrient intake of vitamin D (10 μg/d) simply from natural food sources. Therefore, additional food vehicles for vitamin D fortification are needed to improve vitamin D intake and status. Dairy products represent a potential vehicle for fortification, given their status as staple foods in the United Kingdom. In recent workshops (October 2024 and March 2025), barriers to vitamin D fortification of dairy products were discussed by a group of experts. The main conclusions from the workshops are presented in this review and position paper and are as follows: 1) there is convincing evidence of the need to improve vitamin D status. 2) Furthermore, evidence is required including modeling studies to examine a wide variety of dairy products potentially being fortified using the United Kingdom population data, especially those who are at risk of vitamin D deficiency such as children and young female populations, as well as cost evaluation studies of vitamin D fortification. 3) More research on consumer preferences toward vitamin D-fortified dairy products is needed. 4) Vitamin D fortification of dairy products may not be technically difficult, but it may involve additional cost for dairy food manufacturers, such as purchasing specific equipment for vitamin D addition. 5) The retailing and promotion of vitamin D-fortified dairy products are influenced by various factors such as price and customer perceptions. This review further: 1) highlights the barriers to the promotion and legislation of mandatory vitamin D fortification policy of dairy products, 2) reviews current evidence of each barrier, and 3) identifies research gaps that need to be addressed in the future.