UK retailer Marks and Spencer has announced it will be adding vitamin D to its entire bread range in the country.
Every loaf of bread and bread roll in the M&S bakery range will now be made with yeast that "naturally produces" vitamin D, providing a minimum of 15% of the daily requirement in two slices.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The retailer claims it is the first time vitamin D has been added to bread and across an entire range.
Claire Hughes, head of nutrition and science at M&S, said: "We understand the importance of vitamin D in a balanced diet and the role this can play in health; we want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to increase their intake. By adding it to something as simple as bread it means customers don’t have to change their usual diet to get an additional top up of this vital vitamin."
According to recent nutrition studies, the UK suffers from increasing levels of vitamin D deficiency in adults and children.
Claire Severgnini, CEO of the National Osteoporosis Society, said: "Vitamin D is a vital nutrient that sadly many people are lacking. This can lead to osteoporosis and other health complications that can be avoided by simple lifestyle changes. Safe sun exposure is an excellent way of obtaining natural Vitamin D; however levels can be topped up through diet."
The vitamin D bread will affect 70 different types of bread at the store.
