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The Ingredients in a Target Chewable Children's Vitamin

Jan 21, 2012 | By Michelle Kerns
The Ingredients in a Target Chewable Children's Vitamin
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Target's Chewable Children's Multivitamins are a good choice for a vitamin supplement, reports ConsumerReports.org, which conducted tests on six major brands of children's multivitamins. The tablets do not contain any contaminating substances and meet the Target's claims of vitamin and mineral content. Target.com does not provide detailed ingredient information about the multivitamins for consumers, but the supplements are designed to be a generic form of Bayer Healthcare's Flintstones Complete Chewable Multivitamins. The two share the same vitamin and mineral content and use similar compounds, such as binders and flavoring agents.

Vitamins

A single dose of Target's Children's Chewable Multivitamins provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, riboflavin, folic acid, thiamin, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid. The vitamins also contain 60 percent of the required daily intake of vitamin A, and 38 milligrams of choline, a member of the B vitamin family, in the form of choline bitarate. Most of the vitamins included in the supplement are bound with other compounds to facilitate their absorption in the digestive system.

Minerals

The Children's Chewable Multivitamins marketed by Target provide 10 percent of the amount of calcium required daily, as well as 100 percent of the recommended intake of the minerals iron and copper. Zinc oxide provides 12 milligrams of zinc -- equivalent to 80 percent of the daily recommended intake -- and the 20 mg of magnesium phosphate included fills 5 percent of a child's daily intake needs for magnesium. One dose also contains 100 mg of phosphorus. The multivitamins contain sodium, but less than 1 percent of the recommended intake per day.

Flavorings

Sweeteners and flavorings are added to the chewable multivitamins to make them palatable to young children. While the flavors are listed only as a combination of natural and artificial agents, the sweeteners used include a mixture containing sorbitol, aspartame, sucrose and xylitol. Xylitol is a plant-derived, naturally sweet powder, while sorbitol is a synthetic sugar-alcohol compound. Both contain fewer calories per gram than table sugar, or sucrose. Aspartame enhances the vitamins' sweetness and extends the taste of the compounds used as flavorings.

Binding Agents

Multivitamins include binding agents, ingredients that are able to create a smooth mixture of the active compounds in the supplement. Target's Chewable Children's Multivitamins use dicalcium phosphate, pregelatinized starch, stearic acid, carrageenan, hydrogenated vegetable oil and magnesium stearate as its binders. Gelatin is included as the thin coating on the outside of each individual vitamin. This gives the supplements a soft, not rough or chalky feel.

References

Article reviewed by Michael Carroll Last updated on: Jan 21, 2012

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