What is it?
- Food fortification is defined as the practice of adding vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods during processing to increase their nutritional value.
Benefits
- To address micronutrient deficiencies, food fortification is a tried-and-true, durable, affordable, and highly successful approach.
- Staple foods such as wheat flour, maize flour, rice, oil, pulses, and salt can be fortified with micronutrients, including iron, folic acid, vitamin A, iodine, and others, without affecting taste, texture, or color and with a negligible cost to the consumer.
- The folate level of women is improved through mandatory folic acid fortification of staple foods, significantly lowering their chance of becoming pregnant and having children with neural tube abnormalities.
- Fortified foods have helped to reduce rates of nutrient deficiency-related illnesses like rickets.
- Fortified foods can help maintain healthy micronutrient levels to keep your bones strong, help your digestion, and prevent heart issues.
- Fortified foods can boost children’s nutrition, alongside a balanced diet., as children are at greater risk of nutritional deficiencies than adults.
Limitations
- They’re often high in sugars, fats, sodium, and other ingredients that can lead to problems like obesity.
- There is a risk of an overdose of vitamins and minerals in the diet which can be harmful, especially if supplements are also being taken