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Sources of vitamin B12

Last edited 23 May 2022

Vitamin B12 is naturally present in foods of animal origin, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products (milk, eggs, cheese), yeast extracts and fortified breakfast cereals.

It is the only vitamin not found in vegetables.
Note that meats vary with respect to amount of vitamin B12 they contain e.g. beef liver is a much richer source of vitamin B12 than a chicken breast (see table below).

A variety of foods and their vitamin B12 levels per serving are detailed in the table below:

Food	Micrograms per serving	Percent DV*
Beef liver, cooked, pan-fried, 3 ounces	70.7	2,944
Clams (without shells), cooked, 3 ounces	17	708
Tuna, bluefin, cooked, dry heat, 3 ounces	9.3	385
Nutritional yeast, fortified, from several brands (check label), about ¼ cup	8.3 to 24	346 to 1,000
Salmon, Atlantic, cooked, 3 ounces	2.6	108
Beef, ground, 85% lean meat/15% fat, pan-browned, 3 ounces	2.4	100
Milk, 2% milkfat, 1 cup	1.3	54
Yogurt, plain, fat free, 6-ounce container	1.0	43
Breakfast cereals, fortified with 25% of the DV for vitamin B12, 1 serving	0.6	25
Cheese, cheddar, 1½ ounces	0.5	19
Egg, whole, cooked, 1 large	0.5	19
Turkey, breast meat, roasted, 3 ounces	0.3	14
Tempeh, 1/2 cup	0.1	3
Banana, 1 medium	0.0	0
Bread, whole-wheat, 1 slice	0.0	0
Strawberries, raw, halved, 1/2 cup	0.0	0
Beans, kidney, boiled, 1/2 cup	0.0	0
Spinach, boiled, drained, 1/2 cup	0.0	0

Notes:

the recommended daily allowance for a person aged 14+ years are:
- male 2.4 mcg
- female 2.4 mcg
- during pregnancy 2.6 mcg
- during lactation 2.8 mcg
*DV = Daily Value
- DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers compare the nutrient contents of foods and dietary supplements within the context of a total diet. The DV for vitamin B12 is 2.4 mcg for adults and children aged 4 years and older. FDA does not require food labels to list vitamin B12 content unless vitamin B12 has been added to the food. Foods providing 20% or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient, but foods providing lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet.

Reference:

(1) National Institutes for Health. Vitamin B12 dietary fact sheet (accessed 13/05/2022)

Vitamin B12 deficiency

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Sources of vitamin B12

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