US vs Canada Baby & Me 2 Vitamin AUpdated 2 months ago

MegaFood Baby & Me 2 Prenatal formula is identical in the US and Canada; the source of Vitamin A is natural beta carotene. However, the labeling regulations of US FDA and Health Canada's Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate are quite different.  

Health Canada requires that beta carotene be labeled per dosage unit in mcg (and IUs if desired). Only the retinol forms of Vitamin A would list by RAE (retinal activity equivalents) in the amount in the ingredient declaration, which is not permitted for beta carotene on labels in Canada. Instead, beta carotene must be calculated as follows: 

1 IU beta carotene = 0.6 mcg beta carotene[1] 

Example of Canada label declaration: 

Beta-carotene / Bęta-carotčne 2500 IU …………… 1500 mcg 

The US FDA requires ingredients to be listed by serving size, which in the case of Baby & Me 2 Prenatal is 2 tablets. The US label is also required to list Vitamin A by RAE, regardless of the source of the Vitamin A. MegaFood uses a natural, plant source of beta carotene for use in a dietary supplement which impacts the calculations, thus: 

Plant source: beta-carotene from a supplement source 

Unit conversion: 1 mcg RAE = 6.67 IU

Calculation: IU ÷ 6.67 = mcg RAE 

IU to mcg RAE 

To convert IU of plant source beta carotene to mcg RAE: 

1 IU ÷ 6.67 = 0.14992 mcg RAE 

Round 0.14992 to 0.15

1 IU x 0.15 = conversion of IUs to mcg RAE 

Baby & Me 2 Prenatal calculation IU to mcg RAE: 

2500 IU x 0.15 = 375 mcg RAE per tablet or 750 mcg RAE per day

Health Canada's recommended daily intake of Vitamin A for pregnant women is 700 mcg RAE per day.

For reference, you can see the Baby & Me 2 Prenatal NPN listed on Health Canada’s website. Health Canada reviews our formulation, calculations, label and health claims prior to issuing a Natural Product Number, thereby authorizing it for sale in Canada by authorized distributors.