This work was designed to verify the effective levels of beta-carotene fortification of Brazilian commercial, popular spaghetti brands and assess the nutrient retention after cooking. Total carotenoid contents in the raw dried pasta varied from 0.9 to 5.9 mu g/g. After separating what appeared to be degradation products, however, contents fell to not detectable to 3.8 mu g/g and two brands out of seven ranked below the minimum vitamin A value stated on the label. Cooking did not decrease the total carotenoid content. It is concluded that beta-carotene fortification of dried pasta can be valid, but analytical separation of beta-carotene is necessary to assess the true provitamin A. content. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.1028185