title: Vegetable oil of poor quality is limiting the success of fortification with vitamin A in Egypt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fortification of vegetable oil with vitamin A is considered a cost-effective and simple to implement strategy, but the stability of vitamin A remains a limiting factor. To account for losses of vitamin A, oil producers add an overage. Optimizing the amount of this overage can result in considerable savings for industry and government while ensuring a supply of adequately fortified oil to consumers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate vitamin A losses in oil with different chemical characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of fortified oils with different chemical characteristics were collected from two Egyptian companies (oil A and B) and stored for 1 month. Vitamin A levels were analyzed periodically during storage to determine losses over time, and peroxide values were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fortified oil B, with a high peroxide value (5.8 mEq/kg), exposed to sunlight had significantly higher losses of vitamin A after 4 weeks than fortified oil A, with a low peroxide value (0.4 mEq/kg): 31.1% vs. 19.7% (p < .001), respectively. In semidark conditions, the vitamin A losses after 4 weeks in fortified oil B and fortified oil A were significantly different: 26.1% and 0.7% (p < .001), respectively. In an accelerated storage test, the vitamin A loss in 8 days was 48.3% for fortified oil B and 4.2% for fortified oil A (p < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows a significant effect of peroxide level (one indicator of the quality of oil) on the stability of vitamin A, regardless of storage conditions. To optimize and sustain vitamin A levels in fortified oil, governments and industries should minimize the peroxide level to less than 2 mEq/kg at production.
authors.affiliation: GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, PO Box 55, Geneva 1211, Switzerland. alaillou@gainhealth.org
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laillou
authors.forename: Saeb A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hafez
authors.forename: Amal H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mahmoud
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rohner
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fortin
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Nabih A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moench-Pfanner
mesh_terms: D004355:Drug Stability; D004534:Egypt; D005519:Food Preservation; D063427:Food Quality; D005527:Food, Fortified / Q000032:analysis*; D010545:Peroxides / Q000032:analysis; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000032:analysis*; D013472:Sunlight; D013997:Time Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010545:Peroxides; D010938:Plant Oils; D014801:Vitamin A