Fortification: new findings and implications

Abstract

This article reviews the current landscape regarding food fortification in the United States; the content is based on aworkshop sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. Fortification of the food supply with vitamins and minerals is a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of the population without increasing caloric intake. Many individuals in the United States would not achieve recommended micronutrient intakes without fortification of the food supply. The achievement and maintenance of a desirable level of nutritional quality in the nation's food supply is, thus, an important public health objective. While the addition of nutrients to foods can help maintain and improve the overall nutritional quality of diets, indiscriminate fortification of foods could result in overfortification or underfortification in the food supply and nutrient imbalances in the diets of individuals. Any changes in food fortification policy for micronutrients must be considered within the context of the impact they will have on all segments of the population and of food technology and safety applications and their limitations. This article discusses and evaluates the value of fortification, the success of current fortification efforts, and the future role of fortification in preventing or reversing nutrient inadequacies.

Micronutrient Fortification of Food: Issues for Asia

“…Numerous studies have shown that fortified foods provide a significant source of vitamins and minerals in the US and help prevent deficiencies (9)(10)(11)(12). For example, without fortification it was estimated that over 50% of the US population would have intakes of thiamin below the estimated average requirement (EAR), while with fortification the level is below 5%.…”

Environmental and Genetic Variation in Essential Mineral Nutrients and Nutritional Value Among Brassica Vegetables

“…There are multiple ways to fortify minerals in foods (Dwyer et al, 2014;Gómez-Galera et al, 2010). In the food industry, certain nutrients can be added to foods during processing, such as the addition of riboflavin to refined flour and cereal products (Dwyer et al, 2014). However, this approach has a limitation in that added nutrients may affect organoleptic properties of foods, such as changes in color for iron-added foods or flavor changes when fortified with potassium (Dwyer et al, 2014).…”

“…Biofortification is another way to elevate certain nutrient levels in foods. For instance, people have worked on developing rice with higher levels of β-carotene, Zn, or Fe via breeding or genetic engineering (Dwyer et al, 2014;Gómez-Galera et al, 2010). This approach may be more sustainable and cost effective, although trade barriers and consumers' perception to genetically modified foods may impede this effort (Dwyer et al, 2014;Gómez-Galera et al, 2010).…”

“…Therefore, a significant amount of work has been done to increase mineral levels in plant-based foods. There are multiple ways to fortify minerals in foods (Dwyer et al, 2014;Gómez-Galera et al, 2010). In the food industry, certain nutrients can be added to foods during processing, such as the addition of riboflavin to refined flour and cereal products (Dwyer et al, 2014).…”

“…In the food industry, certain nutrients can be added to foods during processing, such as the addition of riboflavin to refined flour and cereal products (Dwyer et al, 2014). However, this approach has a limitation in that added nutrients may affect organoleptic properties of foods, such as changes in color for iron-added foods or flavor changes when fortified with potassium (Dwyer et al, 2014). Moreover, this may not be a suitable method for developing countries since it requires a strong food processing infrastructure and increases the food prices (Gómez-Galera et al, 2010).…”