Step	Recommendation
Measuring food intakes	Data can be obtained from a national nutritional survey representative of different age groups and gender. It is recommended that data be collected as 24‐h recalls or food records from at least 2 nonconsecutive days in different days of the week to calculate the individual variability. 101 , 102 The second recall can be done in a subset sample.
Calculating calcium intakes	Using data from the 24‐h recalls, nutrient intakes need to be calculated, preferably from a nationally representative food composition database. If this is not available, regional food composition databases can be used.
Adjusting the distribution of calcium intakes	Using data from the two 24‐h recalls, statistical adjustment is needed to adjust for within‐individual nutrient intake variation to obtain usual nutrient intakes by age and gender. This can be done using the IMAPP, even if a second 24‐h recall is not available, as it will estimate the variability using an external within‐individual variability.
Assessing the prevalence of inadequate calcium intakes	This is done based on an established cut‐point for each nutrient to calculate the prevalence of inadequate intakes based on the proportion of individuals with usual intakes below this level, for most nutrients.
Assessing the prevalence of potentially excessive calcium intakes	This can be calculated based on the proportion of individuals with intakes above the tolerable upper level.
Selecting the food vehicle to fortify with calcium	This step requires knowledge of the level of consumption of staple foods by age and gender. It also requires consideration of other nutrients being fortified in these staple foods to understand potential interactions and presence of certain substances that can interfere in calcium absorption, such as phytates and oxalates, as discussed before. Also, this vehicle must be consumed in enough quantity by the population at risk of deficiency and preferably not by the population with high intakes when there are concerns about excessive intakes.
Estimating the desirable calcium fortification levels	This can also be estimated using IMAPP. For this, a target median intake of calcium must be set in addition to the nutrient intake gap, which is based on a selected target prevalence of inadequacy (e.g., 2.5%, 20%, or other). This software will then calculate the different intake levels using different levels of fortification. The amount of calcium required to reposition the median to the target median intake equates to the amount of calcium needed to add to the food vehicle. The software will simulate the percent of the population that will still have inadequate intakes with the level chosen, by age and gender. It will also calculate the percent that would have excessive intakes. An acceptable percentage for excessive intake is 2–3%; if above this level, the level of calcium to be added should be reduced and the simulation should be rerun. However, some scenarios may not allow to achieve the target prevalence of inadequacy while ensuring an acceptably low prevalence of excessive intake.
Selecting the appropriate calcium salt	The type of calcium salt to use will depend on the food vehicle, the amount of calcium that is needed to close the gap, the bioavailability and stability of the calcium salt, the amount of competing substances (e.g., phytates and oxalates) in the food vehicle, other fortificants being currently added, and the sensory properties of the food vehicle.