The earlier recommendation was to use carotenoid factors based on Nordic nutritional recommendations. The Finnish Food Authority currently recommends the use of equivalence factors based on the EFSA opinion in order to have uniform calculation principles across the EU.
Vitamin A in labelling - Carotenoid equivalence factors
Vitamin A is any substance that has the biological activity of retinol. These include e.g. plant-derived vitamin A precursors, i.e. carotenoids such as ß carotene. Retinol activity is expressed in retinol equivalents (RE).
1 RE is equivalent to:
- 1 µg of vitamin A (retinol)
- 6 µg ß carotene
- 12 µg of other carotenoids.