Table 3.

Micronutrient densities and average share of requirements per 100 g of foods high in priority nutrients ^a

Food	Iron (mg)	Zinc (mg)	Vit A (RAE)	Folate (DFE)	Vit B12 (µg)	Calcium (mg)	Average share of requirements across all 6 micronutrients (%) b
Small dried fish	10.4	10.0	363	19	12.0	2030	88
Chicken liver	12.3	4.0	4139	569	19.0	11	84
Beef liver	6.5	5.3	9442	253	70.6	6	84
Eggs	1.2	1.1	149	44	1.1	50	59
Beef	2.8	6.5	0	8	2.6	8	46
Chicken	1.2	1.9	46	5	0.3	14	42
Dark leafy greens	3.2	0.3	256	42	0.0	98	40
Milk	0.0	0.4	46	5	0.5	113	37
Groundnuts	1.3	2.3	0	86	0.0	57	34
Pulses	2.3	1.1	0	84	0.0	25	29
Mango	0.5	0.1	152	33	0.0	13	26
Carrot	0.3	0.2	852	14	0.0	30	23
Pumpkin	0.6	0.2	288	9	0.0	15	22
Okra	0.3	0.4	14	46	0.0	77	21

^aAll foods are in the form typically consumed and from a combination of local and US Department of Agriculture food composition²² databases, according to Ryckman et al.¹¹ Bold numbers indicate highest nutrient density of the specified nutrient or average share of requirements. Abbreviations: DFE, dietary folate equivalent; RAE, retinol activity equivalent; Vit, vitamin.

^bAverage share of requirements across iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B₁₂, folate, and calcium per 100 g, assuming requirements from complementary foods for children aged 6–23 months (each micronutrient capped at 100% of daily requirements). The proportion of nutrient requirements from complementary foods were assumed to be 0.98 for iron, 0.87 for zinc, 0.65 for calcium, 0.17 for vitamin A, 0.70 for vitamin B₁₂, and 0.60 for folate.²³ Iron and zinc requirements were adjusted for bioavailability. For iron, we assumed 15% dietary iron bioavailability for animal-source foods and 10% for plant foods; for zinc we assumed 50% dietary zinc bioavailability for animal-source foods and 30% for legumes, nuts, and seeds.²⁴