Cocoa and chocolate are sources of vitamin D₂

Cocoa beans are susceptible to fungal contamination and often contain substantial amounts of ergosterol, the precursor to vitamin D₂. We hypothesized that sun-drying the fermented cocoa beans might lead to the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D₂. We quantified vitamin D in cocoa and cocoa-based foods by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Here, we show that cocoa beans from different growing regions contain vitamin D₂. Particularly high vitamin D₂ content was found in cocoa powder and butter. Among the chocolates, dark chocolate had the highest vitamin D₂ content (ranging from 1.90 to 5.48 µg/100 g), white chocolate had the lowest vitamin D₂ content (ranging from 0.19 to 1.91 µg/100 g), and chocolate nut spreads had a comparatively low vitamin D₂ content, with an average of 0.15 µg/100 g. Thus, cocoa and chocolate are clearly a dietary source of vitamin D, therefore, it is necessary to update food composition databases.