Hildegard Grunow Foundation
Vitamin A
In Guatemala, sugar is fortified with Vitamin A. The Hildegard Grunow Foundation supports the surveillance of the Vitamin A status to check for adequacy and to avoid overdosing.
1. Adequacy of Vitamin A Status Indicators in Children and Adults
Background
The only official public health statistic for the vitamin A status of a population is that of low vitamin A levels (< 20 µg/dL of circulating retinol) in a representative sample of children aged 6 to 59 months of age. In the most recent Guatemalan survey of under-fives, only 3% of the vitamin A values were below the critical value, and hypovitaminosis A was excluded as a public health problem. In a convenient group of residents of the coastal plain of Guatemala, comprised of school children and adult women, CeSSIAM measured vitamin A levels, finding no values below the cut-off value whatsoever.
Corresponding publications
Click for complete reference
CeSSIAM Bulletin 1/2012: Special Issue on Vitamin A
2. Rapid Vitamin A Assessment with the iCHECK System
Background
CeSSIAM has been the grateful recipient of a portable, battery-operated, digital rapid vitamin A assessment device (iCHECK™, BioAnalyt, Telbow, Germany), along with training in its use and a supply of iEX™ extraction vials, courtesy of Sight & Life and DSM Nutritionals. It has demonstrated the capacity to obtain credible vitamin A values for table sugar samples, dairy products, and human milk. Notably, we have demonstrated that freezing of samples is not an impediment to obtaining accurate values for vitamin A.
Corresponding publications
Click for complete reference
N48: The potential double-burden of vitamin A malnutrition: under- and overconsumption of fortified table sugar in the Guatemalan highlandsCeSSIAM Bulletin 1/2012: Special Issue on Vitamin A