Food Fortification

Why in news?

• Experts raise concern over Centre’s plan to mandatorily fortify rice and edible oils with vitamins and minerals, as it has adverse impacts on health and livelihoods.

What is food fortification?

• Fortification is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Iodine, Zinc, Vitamins A & D to staple foods such as rice, wheat, oil, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content.
• These nutrients may or may not have been originally present in the food before processing or may have been lost during processing.
• It can be carried out by food manufacturers, or by governments as a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a population.

Food fortification in India:

• Food Safety and Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) operationalized the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016 for fortifying staples namely Wheat Flour and Rice (with Iron, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid), Milk and Edible Oil (with Vitamins A and D) and Double Fortified Salt (with Iodine and Iron) to reduce the high burden of micronutrient malnutrition in India.
• India’s National Nutritional strategy, 2017, had listed food fortification as one of the interventions to address anaemia, vitamin A and iodine deficiencies apart from supplementation and dietary diversification.

Benefits:

• Nutrients are added to staple foods since they are widely consumed. Thus, this is an excellent method to improve the health of a large section of the population, all at once.
• It is a safe method of improving nutrition among people. The addition of micronutrients to food does not pose a health risk to people. The quantity added is small and well under the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) and are well regulated as per prescribed standards for safe consumption.
• It is a cost-effective intervention and does not require any changes in eating patterns or food habits of people. It is a socio-culturally acceptable way to deliver nutrients to people.
• It does not alter the characteristics of the food like the taste, aroma or the texture of the food.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Which of the following food items are fortified as per Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations 2018?

1. Milk

2. Rice

3. Edible oil

4. Wheat flour

5. Salt

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1,2 and 4 only

(b) 2,3,4 and 5 only

(c) 1,3 and 5 only

(d) 1,2,3,4 and 5

Answer