1000% on a Kids pack is the number that makes people write to us. 4000% on Teens and Adults looks like a typing error. A child does not need four thousand percent of anything. They need a few micrograms, and then an explanation of why the percentage is the wrong ruler.
The percentage is not the child's requirement. The micrograms are the number. This page is EFSA's table, the adult 2.5 µg on every European label, and why a spray on top of a multinutrient is usually the same vitamin twice.
The short answer
- EFSA's adequate intake is 1.5 µg a day at 4 to 6, 2.5 µg at 7 to 10, 3.5 µg at 11 to 14, and 4 µg from 15 through adulthood.
- The number on European labels, the NRV, is 2.5 µg. Pocket Kids carries 25 µg. That is 1000% of the adult NRV, and many times the 1.5 µg figure for a young child.
- Teens and Adults carry 100 µg, which is 4000% of that same 2.5 µg ruler. We would rather you saw that and asked than thought it was a requirement.
- B12 sits in animal foods: meat, fish, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cheese. A child who eats those most days is not waiting on a pouch for this nutrient.
- Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and contributes to normal blood formation. Those are authorised sentences. They are not a B12 course, and they are not a reason to add a spray.
The EFSA table is a few micrograms
EFSA's 2015 dietary reference values for cobalamin (vitamin B12) are adequate intakes. The panel used several blood markers in adults, then scaled for children. They could not set an average requirement from the data they had, so the figure is an AI.
| Age | Adequate intake (EFSA, 2015) |
|---|---|
| 7 to 11 months | 1.5 µg |
| 1 to 6 | 1.5 µg |
| 7 to 10 | 2.5 µg |
| 11 to 14 | 3.5 µg |
| 15 and over | 4 µg |
Adults sit at 4 µg. Pregnancy is 4.5 µg. Breastfeeding is 5 µg. Those last two are not our SKU. If a clinician has named a pregnancy product, that is their product.
There is no tolerable upper intake level from EFSA for vitamin B12. That is not a reason to chase milligrams. A large figure on a panel is not the same as a large figure in the blood. We will not describe a B12 course on a blog.
The NHS lists meat, fish, milk, cheese, eggs and some fortified plant drinks as usual foods on its B12 page. That is one UK page. EFSA is the table we use.
Why 1000% is on the pack
The NRV on every European label is 2.5 µg, from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. 25 µg is ten times 2.5 µg, which is how you get 1000% on Kids. 100 µg is forty times 2.5 µg, which is how you get 4000% on Teens and Adults.
European multinutrients often size oral B12 high on the label, because the NRV is tiny and because a powder does not deliver one-for-one. That is a formulation fact. It is not a child's requirement. It is not a prescription dose. It is not a reason to add a separate B12 spray on top.
We would rather you saw 1000% and asked than thought a five-year-old "needed" ten times an adult ruler. 25 µg is still a complement in a daily scoop. It is not a clinic ampoule.
If a GP has named a B12 course, that is a different product. Ours is the wrong pack for that job.
Animal foods still do this job
B12 sits in animal foods: meat, fish, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cheese. A child who eats those most days is not waiting on a pouch for this nutrient. Portugal and Spain still eat more fish than a lot of northern weeks. That is a plate fact for B12 as well as for iodine.
A child who does not eat them is in a different situation. The meat article is the sibling of this one: If your child does not eat meat. A clinician, not a blog, decides whether a vegetarian household needs a specific B12 product. Fortified plant drinks vary. Read the micrograms on the carton if that is the household, then ask the person who already sees the child. Do not guess from a percentage on a pouch.
Look at the week. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy. Read the micrograms, not the percentage, on every lid. Keep one daily product that matches the age line. Drop the extra B12 spray first.
What the Register lets us say
A food supplement may only describe a health benefit in the wording on the EU Register of nutrition and health claims. For vitamin B12, when the daily dose supplies a significant amount:
| Authorised wording | In our product |
|---|---|
| Contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue | Yes, all three formulas |
| Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism | Yes |
| Contributes to the normal function of the immune system | Yes |
| Contributes to normal blood formation | Yes |
The word doing the work is "contributes". It does not say B12 is why someone is tired. It does not name a blood condition. Tiredness has many origins and most are not nutritional. If it has lasted weeks, the question belongs with a doctor: Tiredness: what food can and cannot explain.
There is also an authorised wording about normal psychological function. We do not use it on a page about children or teenagers. We have no iron. If tiredness was the search and iron was the nutrient you meant, the tiredness page already says so.
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Where My Daily Pocket fits
| Formula | Vitamin B12 in one daily scoop | Who it suits | Who it does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | 25 µg | A daily multinutrient for that age, if that is the job you want | A B12 course. A spray on top. Infants. |
| Pocket Teens (12–17) | 100 µg | Same idea, teen amounts | The same two. |
| Pocket Adults (18+) | 100 µg | Same idea, adult amounts | A clinic B12 product. Pregnancy as prenatal care. |
25 µg is 1000% of the 2.5 µg NRV. 100 µg is 4000%. The percentage is loud. The micrograms are the number. Against EFSA's 1.5 to 4 µg figures, both sit well above the table. That is how many European multinutrients size oral B12. It is not a licence to double it.
Biotin is not in the pouch. If a B-complex is being chosen because of biotin, ours is the wrong pack. The B-vitamin page is Do you need a B-complex?. If the week already has meat, fish, eggs or dairy most days, keep your money.
FAQ
How much vitamin B12 does a child of five need?
EFSA's adequate intake at 1 to 6 is 1.5 µg a day. Pocket Kids has 25 µg in one scoop. That is not because a five-year-old requires 1000% of an adult ruler. Animal foods still count. Do not add a spray on top.
Why is the percentage so large?
Because the adult NRV is 2.5 µg, and oral B12 on multinutrient labels is often sized well above that tiny ruler. Read the micrograms. The percentage is not the child's requirement.
We do not eat meat. Is the pouch enough?
A clinician, not a blog, decides that. B12 sits in animal foods. The meat page is the sibling of this one. Take the labels in.
What may we say vitamin B12 does?
In the authorised wording, among other sentences: it contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, it contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, and it contributes to normal blood formation.
Is there a maximum?
EFSA did not set a UL for vitamin B12. That is not a reason to chase milligrams or to add a second product.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for cobalamin (vitamin B12), 2015
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
- NHS, vitamin B12
- If your child does not eat meat
- Do you need a B-complex?
- How much is too much?
- Tiredness: what food can and cannot explain
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
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If your child does not eat meat · Pocket Kids
