News & Press Releases

Tuesday 11 January 2005

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) today issued a draft report reviewing dietary advice related to vitamin A.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) asked SACN to look at this issue after experts highlighted, in May 2003, evidence that suggested that high intakes of vitamin A may increase the risk of bone fractures in the long term1.

The draft report is now open for comment for 12 weeks from interested parties. The comments will be considered by SACN and the final report published in Summer 2005, after which the FSA will review its advice to consumers.

The draft report concludes that there is insufficient evidence on the association between bone health and vitamin A intake to justify a change in dietary advice to all consumers. As a precaution, however, it concludes that it may be advisable for people who eat liver regularly, i.e. once a week or more, not to increase this amount and to avoid taking supplements containing vitamin A. This is because liver is a particularly rich source of vitamin A and contains much higher amounts than other foods.

The draft report also concludes that it may be advisable for people who are particularly at risk of bone fractures, post-menopausal women and older people, not to have more than 1.5mg of vitamin A a day.

The draft conclusions also reinforce current advice that women who are pregnant or thinking of having a baby should avoid taking supplements containing vitamin A and avoid eating liver or liver products, due to the fact that large amounts of vitamin A can harm an unborn baby.

Professor Peter Aggett, a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition said:

"Our initial conclusions are that although there is insufficient evidence on the relationship between vitamin A and bone health to warrant a change in advice to all consumers, it may be advisable for some population groups to limit their vitamin A intakes. The report will be reviewed in light of any comments received or new research and we will then present our final conclusions to the FSA later this year."

The draft report can be found at www.sacn.gov.uk Responses to the draft report are welcome, and can be sent to the SACN Secretariat, Room 808c Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6NH or email sacn@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editor

1. In May 2003, the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals (EVM), an independent expert advisory committee, reported on safe levels of intakes of vitamins and minerals in food supplement and fortified foods. As part of this the committee highlighted evidence that suggested consuming 1.5mg of vitamin A may increase the risk of bone fracture.

  • The Vitamin A Subgroup of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition was established in June 2003 and have met three times. The studies on retinol and bone health previously considered by the EVM were re-examined from a nutritional perspective and evidence published since the EVM report was also examined.
  • Copies of the draft report have been distributed to over 250 interested parties for comment including Government departments, the food and drink industry including the food supplements sector, the feeding stuffs industry, universities and research centres.
  • Comments on the report will be examined by the vitamin A subgroup and their final report forwarded to the full SACN committee for agreement. The report will then be published and made available on the SACN website at www.sacn.gov.uk

Vitamin A can be obtained in two forms:

  • Preformed vitamin A, also called ‘retinol’, which is found only in foods of animal origin. The main sources of retinol are liver, dairy products, eggs, butter and margarine. Liver is a particularly rich source of retinol and contains much higher amounts than other foods. It is this form of vitamin A that can build up in the liver and be harmful.
  • Carotenoids in plant foods act as provitamin A because they are converted to retinol in the body. Carotenoids are found in the yellow-orange pigments of vegetables and fruits, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, and dark green vegetables, e.g. spinach. The most common carotenoid is beta-carotene.
  • Carotenoids do not cause the harmful effects associated with retinol. As carotenoid conversion into vitamin A in the body is not very efficient, it is unlikely to result in high levels of retinol. For this reason this report refers to preformed vitamin A only.

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