Impact of cooking on vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 content of pork products

• Published in: Food chemistry 2022-12, Vol.397, p.133839-133839, Article 133839
• Main Authors: Neill, H.R., Gill, C.I.R., McDonald, E.J., McRoberts, W.C., Loy, R., Pourshahidi, L.K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cholecalciferol; Heat; Loin; Mince; Retention; Sausage
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133839

•Study provides new data on the favourable retention of vitamin D metabolites in pork products post-cooking.•Vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 in loin, mince and sausage were significantly higher in cooked product compared to raw.•Vitamin D concentrations in raw and cooked pork loin were lower than sausage and mince.•Raw vs cooked loin fat vitamin D3 concentrations only differed following sous-vide cooking.•Total vitamin D activity retention of all cooked pork products did not differ from 100%. Little is known regarding the impact of cooking on vitamin D content in pork, despite meat being a major contributor to vitamin D intakes. This paper investigated the effect of household cooking (pan-fry/roast/grill/sous-vide/sauté), on the vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentration/retention in pork loin, mince and sausages. We hypothesised that vitamin D concentrations would be higher in cooked vs raw pork, and retention would differ between products. Cooking significantly increased vitamin D3 (+49 %) and 25(OH)D3 (+33 %) concentrations. All cooked loin vitamin D3 concentrations were significantly lower than mince/sausage. Vitamin D3 retention was > 100 % for all samples (102–135 %), except sauté mince (99 %) which still did not differ significantly from 100 % retention. Sous-vide cooking resulted in the highest vitamin D3 retention (135 %). Likely owing to water/fat loss, household cooking of pork results in favourable retention of vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3. The type of pork product has greater influence than cooking method.