nutrient
Dietary folate equivalents
A folate accounting unit that distinguishes food folate from folic acid.
Educational draft · Human scientific and editorial review pending. About review status
DFE means dietary folate equivalents. It accounts for the differing availability of naturally occurring folate and folic acid consumed with food.
Food sources
Per 100 g| Food | Per 100 g |
|---|---|
| Spinach, raw (SR Legacy 2018) | 194 µg |
| Lentils, cooked and salted (SR Legacy 2018) | 181 µg |
| Hass avocado, raw | 129 µg |
| Spinach | 116 µg |
| Ground flaxseed | 41.4 µg |
Show 16 more foods
| Food | Per 100 g |
|---|---|
| Mature carrots, raw | 37.1 µg |
| Hummus, commercial | 36 µg |
| Almonds, dry-roasted and salted | 35 µg |
| Atlantic salmon, farmed, cooked (SR Legacy 2018) | 34 µg |
| Rolled oats | 32 µg |
| Pie pumpkin, raw | 31 µg |
| Atlantic salmon, farmed, raw (SR Legacy 2018) | 26 µg |
| Navel orange, raw | 25 µg |
| Soy milk, unsweetened and shelf-stable | 19.7 µg |
| Banana, ripe, raw | 14 µg |
| Rainbow trout, wild, raw (SR Legacy 2018) | 12 µg |
| Grape tomatoes, raw | 10 µg |
| Cottage cheese, 2% fat | 10 µg |
| Atlantic sardines, canned in oil (SR Legacy 2018) | 10 µg |
| Carrots, frozen and unprepared | 7 µg |
| Low-fat milk, 1% and fortified | 2 µg |
This comparison requires the USDA folate DFE field. Total folate in µg is not interchangeable with dietary folate equivalents.
About these amounts
These values describe the named food and preparation. A 100 g comparison is not a suggested serving. Small amounts are rounded for display; an unreported amount is not zero.
Healthy European adults. Population reference intake: 330 µg DFE/day. These are population references, not individual targets.
Portions recorded by the source
- Hummus, commercial: 2 tablespoon (33.9 g) — 12.2 µg.
- Almonds, dry-roasted and salted: 1 cup (135 g) — 47.25 µg.
- Cottage cheese, 2% fat: 1 cup (220 g) — 22 µg.
- Low-fat milk, 1% and fortified: 1 cup (246 g) — 4.92 µg.
The source records and EFSA guidance are linked in References below.
How it works
What this field means
DFE means dietary folate equivalents. It accounts for the differing availability of naturally occurring folate and folic acid consumed with food.
Related topics
Dietary folate equivalents expresses Vitamin B9 (folate)
DFE expresses folate using an availability-adjusted accounting unit.
Evidence: Established · Source checked 2026-09-16 · Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Folate: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
Worth knowing
Reading it in a recipe. The calculator uses the source’s DFE field directly. It never treats total folate in micrograms as an interchangeable DFE amount, and missing ingredient values remain missing.
A closer look
Follow the ingredient record
Open an ingredient to see the exact food description, preparation state and per-100 g values. A known subtotal means at least one ingredient value is missing; it is not a complete total.
References
Source-checked local draft.
Human editorial review pending.
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (opens in new tab)Folate: Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsChecked 2026-09-05
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (opens in new tab)FoodData Central SR Legacy, April 2018 JSON releaseChecked 2026-09-05
- European Food Safety Authority (opens in new tab)Dietary Reference Values for nutrients: Summary reportChecked 2026-09-05
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (opens in new tab)FoodData Central Foundation Foods, April 2026 JSON releaseChecked 2026-09-05
- European Food Safety Authority (opens in new tab)Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for magnesiumChecked 2026-09-04
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (opens in new tab)Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health ProfessionalsChecked 2026-09-04
- USDA Agricultural Research Service (opens in new tab)FoodData CentralChecked 2026-09-04
Take it into the kitchen
Explore this nutrient in simple meals. Recipe pages show estimated amounts and missing data.
Coconut lentil spinach soup · 20 min →
Sesame edamame rice · 18 min →
Avocado edamame toast · 15 min →
Compare meals by dietary folate equivalents →