Although the chickens on the diets with fortified white maize
meal (TRM1 and TRM2) had a lower body weight than had birds
on TRM4, there were no significant differences in vitamin A concentration
among the livers of the chickens on these three diets.
Therefore, it can be assumed that the fortificant in the white maize
is as absorbable as the vitamin A in the premix used in poultry
nutrition. In translating these results to human nutrition, it is reasonable
to conclude that the absorption of vitamin A in fortified
maize meal is not a reason for the low vitamin A status of South
African children five years after the implementation of mandatory
fortification (NFCS-FB-I, 2008). Other reasons, such as non-compliance
by millers, the unavailability of fortified maize meal (e.g.
farmers provide maize meal as part of remuneration to farm workers)
or fortification levels set lower than the recommended dietary
allowances (RDA), should be investigated.