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Fortified Foods
Maternal and child undernutrition is very common in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). A particularly widespread problem in LMICs is “hidden hunger”, or a chronic lack of essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A and folic acid in the diet. This occurs when consumption and absorption of micronutrients are too low to sustain good health and development. Hidden hunger impairs mental and physical development of children and adolescents.
Many factors contribute to micronutrient deficiencies such as poor diet, increased micronutrient needs during certain life stages, such as pregnancy and lactation, and health problems such as diseases, infections, or parasites.
Micronutrient deficiencies can be addressed by several ways including supplementation, dietary diversity and food fortification.
What is Food Fortification?
It is the practice of adding of one or more micronutrients (i.e., vitamins and minerals) to commonly consumed foods during processing to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health. Also, the addition of micronutrients can help to restore the micronutrient content lost during processing. It is a proven, safe and cost-effective strategy for improving diets and for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies.
Why fortification?
Currently, more than 70% of India’s population consumes less than the daily recommended levels of micronutrients. This deficiency is affecting all the strata of the population be it rich, poor, young, old, urban or rural. However, women and children are more significantly affected by these deficiencies. Food fortification is gaining momentum in India to address the alarmingly high prevalence of vitamin and mineral deficiencies among India’s 1.3 billion people. Fortified foods are helpful as they can fill in the gaps and increase a particular vitamin and mineral consumption that would otherwise be less than the recommended value. There is strong evidence that food fortification is effective in addressing micronutrient deficiencies. Foods fortified with folic acid will help in reducing birth of babies born with brain and spine birth defects, while foods fortified with folic acid and iron will reduce nutritional anaemia.
FSSAI has stablished standards for fortification of rice, wheat flour, edible oil, double fortified salt (DFS), and milk. Whole wheat flour (atta) is fortified with folic acid, iron and vitamin B12, common salt with iodine, milk with vitamin D.
Consumption of fortified foods is not a long-term solution for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. Undernutrition can be addressed by promoting dietary diversification, supporting agricultural development, raising awareness and education about nutrition, integrating nutrition into healthcare services, and implementing social protection programs. By taking a holistic approach to nutrition, we can create a world where everyone has access to the nutrients they need for a healthy life.