ABSTRACT Vitamin A and vitamin D 3 deficiencies continue to pose serious health challenges, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries like Ethiopia. One promising way to tackle this issue is by fortifying everyday foods—such as cooking oils—with essential nutrients to help improve the overall intake across communities. This study investigated the stbility of vitamins A and D 3 in fortified soybean oil during common Ethiopian cooking practices and over time during storage. To test the vitamins' shelf life, the fortified oil was stored for 6 months at two temperatures: room temperature (25°C) and a warmer 37°C. As expected, both vitamins became less stable; the longer they were stored, and the higher the temperature, the greater the loss. Notably, vitamin D 3 broke down much more than vitamin A under the same conditions. After 6 months, vitamin A levels dropped by just over 5% at room temperature and nearly 9% at 37°C. Meanwhile, vitamin D 3 levels fell sharply by 59% and 62% at room temperature and 37°C, respectively. The study also examined how cooking affected vitamin levels. Food was prepared using the fortified oil at 250°C for 80 min. Even under these high‐heat conditions, more than 60% of vitamin A and a remarkable 97% of vitamin D 3 were retained. These results show that vitamin A is more sensitive to heat, while vitamin D 3 is more vulnerable to long‐term storage.
Gidey et al. (Mon,) studied this question.