Ten foods ranked by vitamin A (µg RAE) per 100 grams in USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy data, with liver counted once - led by braised Veal Liver at 21,145 µg.
In USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy data, Veal Liver (braised) has the most vitamin A of the foods on this list, at 21,145 µg RAE per 100 g. Liver is counted once; the next foods are raw Grape Leaves at 1,376 µg and cooked Eel at 1,137 µg. Values are retinol activity equivalents per 100 g from the final SR Legacy release (April 2018).
This list ranks foods by vitamin A per 100 grams, using one data source only: the SR Legacy foods in USDA FoodData Central (the final release of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference). Every value is in micrograms of retinol activity equivalents (µg RAE), and each item links to its FoodData Central entry. Strict per-100-gram data is dominated by organ meats: in SR Legacy, cooked livers from six species and several giblet entries outrank every other food. To keep the list useful as a comparison, liver appears once, as its highest cooked entry, and the other nine places go to foods that are not organ meats. This page reports what the official data says; it is not dietary advice.
Braised veal liver is listed at 21,145 µg RAE of vitamin A per 100 g, the highest cooked liver entry in SR Legacy and about 15 times the next food on this list. Under this list's rules liver appears once; the other cooked livers in SR Legacy range from 4,296 µg (chicken, pan-fried) to 10,751 µg (turkey, simmered).
Raw grape leaves are listed at 1,376 µg RAE per 100 g, the highest of any fresh vegetable in SR Legacy. The leaves are best known as the wrapper for stuffed dishes such as dolmas.
Eel cooked by dry heat is listed at 1,137 µg RAE per 100 g, the highest value for any fish fillet in SR Legacy. Unlike the plant foods below it, all of the vitamin A in this eel entry is listed as retinol (1,137 µg).
Frozen sweet potato, baked, is listed at 1,043 µg RAE per 100 g. Fresh sweet potato baked in its skin is a separate SR Legacy entry at 961 µg; under this list's rules each food appears once, at its highest plain entry.
Boiled carrots are listed at 852 µg RAE per 100 g. SR Legacy lists raw carrots slightly lower, at 835 µg, and frozen boiled carrots at 846 µg.
Plain canned pumpkin is listed at 778 µg RAE per 100 g, well above raw pumpkin (426 µg) and boiled fresh pumpkin (288 µg) in SR Legacy. Canned pumpkin pie mix is a separate entry and is not included.
Fresh bluefin tuna cooked by dry heat is listed at 757 µg RAE per 100 g. Other fresh tuna in SR Legacy is listed far lower: cooked yellowfin at 22 µg and cooked skipjack at 18 µg.
Unsalted butter is listed at 684 µg RAE per 100 g, and salted butter carries the same value. It is the highest plain dairy or egg product in SR Legacy; raw egg yolk is listed at 381 µg.
Boiled mustard greens are listed at 618 µg RAE per 100 g. The next food below the cut is frozen spinach, boiled, at 603 µg.
Frozen spinach, boiled and drained without salt, is listed at 603 µg RAE per 100 g in SR Legacy.
| # | Name | type | fdc_entry | fdc_id | sr_ndb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veal Liver (braised) | Liver (organ meat) | Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised | 172535 | 17203 |
| 2 | Grape Leaves (raw) | Leafy vegetable | Grape leaves, raw | 168575 | 11974 |
| 3 | Eel (cooked) | Fish | Fish, eel, mixed species, cooked, dry heat | 174194 | 15026 |
| 4 | Sweet Potato (frozen, baked) | Root vegetable | Sweet potato, frozen, cooked, baked, without salt | 169307 | 11517 |
| 5 | Carrots (boiled) | Root vegetable | Carrots, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | 170394 | 11125 |
| 6 | Pumpkin (canned) | Squash | Pumpkin, canned, without salt | 168450 | 11424 |
| 7 | Bluefin Tuna (cooked) | Fish | Fish, tuna, fresh, bluefin, cooked, dry heat | 173707 | 15118 |
| 8 | Butter (unsalted) | Dairy | Butter, without salt | 173430 | 01145 |
| 9 | Mustard Greens (boiled) | Leafy vegetable | Mustard greens, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | 169257 | 11271 |
| 10 | Spinach (frozen, boiled) | Leafy vegetable | Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | 169288 | 11464 |
Metric: vitamin A in µg RAE per 100 g of edible portion, as published in USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy data type (April 2018). The legacy IU values that SR Legacy also carries are not used, and no other database (Foundation Foods, FNDDS, branded labels, aggregator sites) is mixed in. Rules: (1) Organ meats appear once: liver is represented by the highest cooked liver entry (veal, braised); other livers, giblets, kidneys and liver products (liverwurst, braunschweiger, pate) are otherwise excluded. Raw-only liver entries (duck, goose) and imported New Zealand entries are not counted. (2) Meat and fish are counted cooked. (3) Each food appears once, at its highest plain entry (raw, cooked, frozen or canned, with no sauce, sugar or seasoning); where SR Legacy has with-salt and without-salt versions, the without-salt entry is used. (4) Excluded: fish-liver oils and other fats and oils (e.g. cod liver oil, margarine); fortified foods, drink mixes, shakes and supplements; dried, dehydrated, freeze-dried and powdered foods; juices; herbs and spices; baby foods; snacks, baked goods and prepared dishes; and SR Legacy's American Indian/Alaska Native foods group. Ties are listed as published. The next eligible food below #10 is canned red hot chili peppers (595 µg RAE, FDC 170107).
Fish-liver oils are the highest entries: cod liver oil is listed at 30,000 µg RAE per 100 g, but it is excluded here as an oil. Among foods, cooked livers lead. SR Legacy lists braised veal liver at 21,145 µg, simmered turkey liver at 10,751 µg, braised beef liver at 9,442 µg, pan-fried lamb liver at 7,782 µg, braised pork liver at 5,405 µg and pan-fried chicken liver at 4,296 µg.
Counted strictly, cooked livers and giblets would fill all ten places, because SR Legacy has more than ten cooked liver and giblet entries above 2,800 µg RAE per 100 g (the lowest cooked liver, simmered chicken liver, is 3,981 µg), while the highest non-organ food, raw grape leaves, is 1,376 µg. This list represents liver with its highest cooked entry and ranks other foods below it.
Retinol activity equivalents (RAE) express vitamin A in micrograms while accounting for the lower activity of provitamin A carotenoids such as beta-carotene. International Units (IU) are an older measure that SR Legacy also reports. There is no single conversion factor between the two for mixed foods, so this list uses RAE only. For example, SR Legacy lists boiled carrots at 852 µg RAE and 17,033 IU per 100 g.
Values are per 100 g, so foods that lose water in cooking or processing show more vitamin A per gram. SR Legacy lists raw sweet potato at 709 µg RAE, frozen baked sweet potato at 1,043 µg, raw pumpkin at 426 µg and canned pumpkin at 778 µg per 100 g.
SR Legacy has two entries for boiled dandelion greens that disagree: 727 µg RAE per 100 g with salt and 342 µg without salt. This list uses the without-salt entry wherever both exist, and 342 µg is below the cut. Raw dandelion greens are listed at 508 µg.
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