The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has expressed the view that fortification of food products by adding vitamins and nutrients needs to be made compulsory so that the Indian population, especially children, are able to receive all the necessary nutrients they need in their growing years. These views were expressed at a press conference that also announced the first edition of Western India’s premier food and hospitality expo ‘GujFood.’
According to the CII malnutrition affects 50 percent of the population. A survey carried out by UNICEF in 2013 -14 revealed that almost 9.5 percent of children below the age of five years is severely underweight while children with stunted growth stand at about 17 percent. This is the kind of situation that needs attention and so the industry, as well as Government, need to work together to resolve the problem of malnutrition. The CII is of the opinion that the Government should make fortification of food, by adding vitamins and other nutrients in it, compulsory for all food product manufacturers.
Further, Chairman CII National Food Processing Committee, Piruz Khambatta urged the government to think about adding vitamins and nutrients to the mid-day meals served to children. The cost of fortifying the meals is also not very expensive he added. He also urged the food industry to come up with fortified products that the masses could afford. He suggested that providing nutrient rich fortified food products could be a part of the CSR program while the government could provide tax concessions for these fortified but cheaper foods.
In 2005 the Gujarat government asked edible oil millers to add Vitamin A to oil as schoolchildren were suffering from Vitamin A deficiency. Flour mills were encouraged to add iron and other vitamins in wheat flour. India has some of the highest rates of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) in the world. Each year, it is responsible for 330,000 deaths of children in India. Although Vitamin A status has improved in the past few decades VAD continues to affect both rural and urban households. This is because India’s meat and dairy consumption are low and people from low-income groups may not get enough Vitamin A from their diet alone.
So what is fortification?
In simple terms, food fortification is defined as a process where nutrients, vitamins are added to food and drinks. In India the first time food was fortified was when iodine was added to common salt. Scientifically speaking fortification is a deliberate process that is used to increase the content of essential micronutrients – vitamins, minerals which include trace elements like iron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc and molybdenum. Fortification helps to improve the nutritional quality of the food which gets translated into health benefits and offers no health risk. Fortification usually means that
- Only those nutrients are added which could have been removed during food processing
- Nutrients are added that may not be naturally occurring in the foods
- Or a higher concentration of nutrients is added even if they are naturally occurring in smaller amounts
Besides Vitamin A deficiency in children Vitamin D and B deficiency is also a fast-growing concern worldwide. Adequate amounts of Vitamin D are necessary especially during the growing years of children so as to reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life. The mother is the only source of Vitamin D, during the development of the foetus, therefore pregnant mothers require more Vitamin D. Most advanced countries already have fortified several foods for Vitamin D like fluid milk, yogurt, some fruit juices and soya milk. Most consumers in developed nations check the labels for vitamin D fortification.
Another factor to consider in India is that since a large number of the population is vegetarian so they have lower Vitamin B-12 deficiency. As a result, babies born to Vitamin B-12–deficient vegetarian mothers pass the deficiency on to their children since most infants are breastfed.
Why are minerals an important part of the diet?
Minerals or trace elements are required for growth, repair and for various body functions. Important minerals are calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Trace elements like iron, iodine, fluoride, zinc, copper, cobalt, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, nickel, tin, silicon and vanadium are required in quantities of less than a few milligrams per day. Why these minerals need to be fortified is because many of these important minerals could be lost due to food processing.
In the same way, Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body and are considered to be building blocks and also serve as a fuel source. As a fuel, proteins contain 4 kcal per gram of energy, which is the same as carbohydrates, but unlike lipids, which contain 9 kcal per gram. Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are the basic building blocks of proteins.
Is food fortification safe?
Fortification of food products is considered to be completely safe as can be seen from the experience of countries that have been fortifying foods for a long time. What is important is that the amount of fortification needs to be done according to specific foods and is usually 1/3 of the total RDAI. Fortification has the very little impact on the shelf life of the product. Vitamins and minerals have a shelf life of their own although they do become less active over time. Percentage of loss, especially for Vitamins C and A, folic acid, and niacin, is significant. If fortified foods lose the nutrient concentration then the food is no longer useful for that fortification as the nutrients are no longer present.
The food processing industry needs to understand how food fortification works and in what situations it does not. Changes in nutrients’ stability depend on pH, oxygen, air, light, and temperature. They need to be controlled during processing and storage of fortified foods. A good example is Vitamin C, which is extremely unstable under several conditions, especially in high heat and humidity.
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