The food fortification policy has been adopted by the governments of many countries to combat the issue of malnutrition. Not many people can afford the foods which contain high amounts of vital nutrients. Lack of these nutrients can cause deficiency symptoms in these individuals. Food fortification is a way by which one can ensure the intake of nutrient-rich foods. In general, "fortify" means "to strengthen" and food fortification means "to strengthen food with vitamins and minerals"
Food fortification is one of the Public health policies, which involves the inclusion of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in the food. Food fortification is done to ensure that an individual is able to meet the minimum dietary requirements.
It's a deliberate process in which the content of essential micro nutrients in a food is increased with a view to improve the nutritional quality of the food and to provide public health benefit with minimal health risks.
Why is Food Fortification Essential?
Children today do not get enough food and micronutrients from their daily meals. As a result, they are underweight and malnourished. In 2000, the World Health Report identified iron, iodine, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies as the greatest risk factors that can jeopardize the public health. Lack of essential nutrients in the diet causes direct or indirect deficiency diseases and these in turn, lead to chronic malnutrition.
What are the Major Micronutrient Deficiencies?
- Vitamin A deficiency causes Xerophthalmia or night blindness.
- Iron deficiency leads to Anemia.
- Iodine deficiency leads to goiter and thyroid dysfunction.
The best way of preventing micronutrient deficiencies is by ensuring the consumption of balanced diet, which contains adequate amounts of vital nutrients. Unfortunately, the diet that we consume is inadequate to meet our bodies' requirement of vital nutrients. The reason can be attributed to lack of accessibility, improper dietary habit and busy schedule in today's fast life. These are the necessities for which food fortification has been introduced. The process serves to deliver nutrients to large segments of population without changing their general food consumption pattern.
Types of Food Fortification
There are mainly 3 types of food fortification recognized so far:
- Mass Fortification: These are done in common edible food products such as cereals, oils, vegetables, fats, milk, sugar and condiments.
- Targeted Fortification: This process is designed to meet the requirements of a specific group of population. Examples include complementary food for infants, preschool and school going children and the foods that are required under emergency situations.
- Market Driven Fortification: These are done by manufactures in the food industry to increase the nutrient content of some specific food products to attract the consumers, and increase the sale of their products.
What are the Staple Foods that Undergo Food Fortification Process?
- Edible flour (Wheat flour and maize flour).
- Edible oils (vegetable oils, margarine, vanaspati or hydrogenated vegetable fat).
- Sugar (blending with Vitamin A)
- Rice
- Salt (table salt with iodine)
- Milk (liquid milk, milk powder, flavored milk)
What are the Common Vitamin-Fortified Food Items Available in the Market?
- Skimmed liquid milk
- Ice cream
- Custard
- Fruit Juices
- Jams
- Syrups
- Soft drinks
- Low fat milk powder
- Health Drink powder
- Dessert Mixes
- Soup Mixes
Generally vitamin A, vitamin D or a mixture of them and beta-carotene is used for liquid oily premixes whereas multivitamin, multivitamin and mineral, and multi-minerals are used for dry premixes.
New food items that are undergoing fortification recently include:
- Fortified cholesterol reducing butter.
- Fortified textured vegetable protein.
- Fortified sports energy bars.
- Fortified breads.
- Instant dessert mixes that use cold milk.
- Pre and Probiotic Yogurt.
Proven benefits of Fortified Foods
- There is a marked reduction in the rate of development of illness in children, and also the rate of death at an early age has been found to have reduced to a considerable extent.
- A study in Africa suggests that a considerable change has been observed in children's growth both physical and mental and this in turn, has led to better performance at school.
- Fortified foods, being rich in vital nutrients, give individuals the stamina and the energy to work harder for a longer period of time.
- These foods contribute towards a healthier population which in turn adds to a nation's productivity.
The daily consumption foods that are fortified with various essential micronutrients is the sure and the safest way of being healthy. Convenience and easy availability are also the reasons why you may like to include fortified foods in your diet. Moreover, you can take in vital nutrients as per your body's requirements without having to change your diet patterns.
