Abstract
Relative Biological Value (RBV) was determined by hemoglobin repletion after 6 and 12 mo storage of a canned milk‐based product which contained 25% U.S. RDA for iron from either ferric orthophosphate (FOP), electrolytic iron (EI), or carbonyl iron (CI). RBV's for the two elemental iron sources were comparable to the RBV of ferrous sulfate and were significantly greater (P <0.01) than the RBV for FOP after each storage period. Significant differences in RBV's for a given iron source were not observed between the two storage periods. A markedly greater percentage of iron from CI and EI than from FOP was solubilized and found in the ferrous form.
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