Vitamin D helps our body use calcium and phosphorus to build and maintain strong bones.1 Yet, most Canadians do not consume enough vitamin D to meet their needs.2 In fact, a 2025 study found that among supplement nonusers, 85–99.8% had usual vitamin D intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), the level estimated to meet the needs of 50% of healthy individuals, across all age–sex groups. Additionally, one in five Canadians have low blood vitamin D levels.3,4
As a result, Health Canada revised its vitamin D fortification strategy to better support Canadians’ needs. This strategy includes increasing mandatory vitamin D levels in milk and allowing the voluntary fortification of yogurt (including drinkable yogurt) and kefir.4 The changes were announced in 2022 and became effective on January 1, 2026, after a transition period for processors. Alongside these fortification updates, Health Canada also updated the Nutrition Facts table to reflect current vitamin D recommendations.
In practice
- Between 85–99.8% of Canadians fall short of recommended vitamin D intakes from dietary sources.
- The Daily Value for vitamin D increased from 5 μg to 20 μg.
- As part of the new Health Canada fortification policy, milk now contains more than double the previous vitamin D, going from 2.3 μg per 250 ml to 5 μg per 250 ml.
- Milk now contains more vitamin D, but the % Daily Value appears lower because the Daily Value is proportionally higher.
- Milk remains an excellent source of vitamin D.
- Yogurt (incl. drinkable yogurt) and kefir can now be fortified with set amounts of vitamin D.
Vitamin D requirements
Following several updates to the Nutrition Facts table and the list of ingredients on food labels announced by Health Canada, new daily values (DVs) for vitamin D were introduced in the Nutrition Facts table to align with current recommendations:
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The DV for vitamin D increased from 5 μg (200 IU) to 20 μg (800 IU).
Revised Fortification of Certain Dairy Products
Vitamin D fortification has been in effect for more than 50 years now and is a public health measure that allowed the elimination of rickets in Canada. Cow’s milk is a major contributor of vitamin D in the diet of Canadians.5 In their updated fortification strategy, Health Canada noted that yogurt and kefir are also well suited to deliver vitamin D because they are widely consumed and naturally contain calcium, an essential nutrient for bone health.4
Vitamin D and milk: an overview of fortification updates and their impacts on labelling
It is important that the amount of vitamin D in milk added by processors is now more than double the previous amount:
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Under the previous fortification level: One cup (250 mL) of cow’s milk was fortified with 2.3 μg, which corresponded to 45% of the previous DV (5 μg).
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Under the new fortification level: One cup (250 mL) of cow’s milk is fortified with 5 μg of vitamin D, which corresponds to 25% of current DV (20 μg).
Thus, while the amount of vitamin D in milk has increased, the %DV per serving reflected on the label is lower. Importantly, milk remains an excellent source of vitamin D.
Yogurt and Kefir: Voluntary Fortification
Prior to the regulations permitting the fortification of yogurt and kefir, vitamin D could still be present in these products when made with fortified milk. Under the new regulations, processors may instead fortify yogurt (including drinkable yogurt) or kefir directly. The permitted levels are designed so that most plain yogurts and kefirs provide at least 25 percent of the daily value for vitamin D per serving, with lower fortification levels for kefir to reflect larger typical serving sizes.4 Ranges are permitted for fruit or flavoured products to align with standard production practices.
Health Canada: Vitamin D levels for yogurt, drinkable yogurt and kefir4
| Food | Vitamin D fortification level (voluntary) |
| Yogurt made from dairy products | |
| Plain | 5 μg/100 g |
| Fruit or flavoured | 3.8 to 5 μg/100 g |
| Drinkable yogurt made from dairy products | |
| Plain | 5.2 μg/100 mL |
| Fruit or flavoured | 3.9 to 5.2 μg/100 mL |
| Kefir made from dairy products | |
| Plain | 2.7 μg/100 mL |
| Fruit or flavoured | 2.3 to 2.7 μg/100 mL |
References
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Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2011.
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Ahmed M et al. Nutrient intakes of Canadian adults: results from the Canadian community health survey (CCHS)–2015 public use microdata file. The American journal of clinical nutrition 2021;114(3):1131-1140.
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Weiler HA et al. Vitamin D Intakes of People Living in Canada: an Assessment using Disaggregated Population Data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition. The Journal of Nutrition 2025.
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Government of Canada. 2025. Fortified Foods: Canada’s Approach to Fortification. www.canada.ca. Accessed January 10, 2026.
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Auclair O et al. Consumption of milk and alternatives and their contribution to nutrient intakes among Canadian adults: evidence from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey—Nutrition. Nutrients 2019;11(8):1948.
