Humans derive most vitamin D from the action of sunlight in their skin. However, in view of the current Western lifestyle with most daily activities
taking place indoors, sun exposure is often not sufficient for adequate vitamin D production. For this reason, dietary intake is also of great
importance. Animal foodstuffs (e.g., fish, meat, offal, egg, dairy) are the main sources for naturally occurring cholecalciferol (vitamin D-3). This
paper therefore aims to provide an up-to-date overview of vitamin D-3 content in various animal foods. The focus lies on the natural vitamin D-3
content because there are many countries in which foods are not regularly fortified with vitamin D. The published data show that the highest values
of vitamin D are found in fish and especially in fish liver, but offal also provides considerable amounts of vitamin D. The content in muscle meat is
generallymuch lower. Vitamin D concentrations in egg yolks range between the values formeat and offal. If milk and dairy products are not fortified,
they are normally low in vitamin D, with the exception of butter because of its high fat content. However, as recommendations for vitamin D intake
have recently been increased considerably, it is difficult to cover the requirements solely by foodstuffs. Adv. Nutr. 4: 453–462, 2013.