Food Fortification

Imagine a world where every time a pregnant woman eats a tortilla or sprinkles seasoning on her food she reduces the chances of her unborn child being born with a debilitating or fatal birth defect by 50% or more; a world where every time a child salts his food they reduce the chances of developing mental retardation; that simply eating a piece of bread does more to prevent blindness than any other single act.  That’s the promise of food fortification.

What are micronutrients?

Micronutrients are simply vitamins and minerals like iron, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc, and so forth that we’re all familiar with and take for granted.  They’re essential to a person’s health and wellbeing, yet 30% of the world’s population suffers from significant micronutrient deficiencies – that’s two billion people, equal to the United States population seven times over.  And while caloric malnutrition, or hunger, is more easily recognizable, improving micronutrient malnutrition is widely recognized as the most cost effective way to improve global health. 

How are foods fortified?

"Fortification" is the process under which vitamins or minerals are added to staple foods such as flour or salt. In general, most foods that are centrally processed are candidates for food fortification and the cost is quite low - for about a nickel a year a child can receive enough iodine to increase their IQ by 10 to 15% and a mother can receive enough folic acid to reduce the risk of major classes of birth defects by 70%.

Where in the world are foods fortified?

The good news is that to some extent, foods are fortified throughout much of the world making it an accepted world health practice.  The fortification of iodine in salt has increased to almost 75% of the world’s population and wheat flour is fortified with iron in countries on every continent.  However, most fortification programs lack a comprehensive strategy that incorporates world-wide best practices.  For example, in many parts of the world food is fortified with iron but not with folic acid even though adding folic acid would not require any additional equipment or operating expense.