The 12th meeting of the Central Advisory Committee of FSSAI which was held last year addressed, among other things, the deficiency of Vitamin A and D. They called it a serious issue and discussed how widely consumed food items could be fortified with Vitamin A and D. In fact the fortification of commonly eaten foods has already been initiated. Though there are regulations on fortified atta and fortified maida, there is no regulation on fortified milk in FSS Act, Rules & Regulations.
The regulations have defined the amount of nutrients for fortified atta and maida. Nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin A, C, B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid and niacin. There have been some pilot projects that have experimented with fortifications of food like rice, tea and candies. Except for infant foods there is no regulation for fortified milk in India.
In India majority of the population lives in areas that have a lot of sunshine throughout the year and so it was a little difficult to believe that there could be Vitamin D deficiency but it is true that in India in all the age groups and both sexes across the country have this deficiency. Sunscreen lotions, staying indoors, clothing habits, pollution and minimal exposure to direct sunlight are the major reasons of such widespread deficiency in the Indian population who like to avoid the hot summer sun during daytime.
It is estimated that around 80% of the Indian population has Vitamin D levels less than normal. However, most Indians are not aware of Vitamin D deficiency, leave aside its various medical implications including for diabetes, blood pressure, etc. besides the bone related health issues.
Vitamin D deficiency is fast becoming a global and national health concern. Almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from Vitamin D deficiency. Adequate calcium intake along with Vitamin D is necessary to maintain the peak bone mass achieved by an individual. Vitamin D adequacy during adolescence helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life. As the mother is the sole source of vitamin D during the developmental stage of the foetus so Vitamin D is very important during pregnancy. In many countries therefore, Vitamin D – Fluid milk, including fat-free and low-fat milk, is fortified with vitamin D. Yogurt may also be fortified with vitamin D. Some calcium-fortified fruit juices and soya milk also have vitamin D added. In developed countries, consumers check the labels so that they can choose products with vitamin D.
Since vegetarianism is prevalent in India, many Indians suffer from lower Vitamin B-12 deficiency. It is also therefore not surprising that many infants born to vitamin B-12–deficient vegetarian mothers would also be at risk of cobalamin (B-12) deficiency as they are mostly breastfed. India has some of the highest rates of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) in the world. Each year, it is associated with the deaths of 330,000 children in India. Although vitamin A status has improved in the past few decades but VAD affects both rural and urban households, it generally results from malnutrition.
The prevalence of Bitot’s spot, the objective sign of clinical VAD at 0.8% is high. Vitamin A deficiency is 52% in Maharashtra and 88% in Madhya Pradesh. India’s low meat and dairy consumption is one of the reasons that that people, from low income groups, may not get enough vitamin A from their diet alone.
From the experience of countries that are already fortifying foods it is considered to be completely safe. The amount of fortification is usually done according to specific foods and is usually 1/3 of the total RDAI. Fortification has 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. One important issue is the stability of the fortifying agent.
The changes in nutrients’ stability may depend on factors such as 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. Percentage loss of different vitamins during processing and storage may be significant, especially for Vitamins C and A, folic acid, and niacin. It is useless to fortify foods if the nutrient concentration decreases after fortification, so that when the food is consumed the nutrient is no longer present.
Stability of Vitamins
Vitamin A
Naturally occurring vitamin A is insoluble in water but soluble in oil. Vitamin A fortification is commercially available in a wide range of forms and can be successfully fortified in margarines, oils and dairy products. Vitamin A is quite stable when heated to moderate temperatures in the absence of oxygen and light. Overall loss of activity during anaerobic heating may range from 5-50%, depending on time, temperature and nature of the carotenoids. In dehydrated foods, vitamin A and provitamin A are highly susceptible. The extent of this loss depends on the severity of the drying process, protection provided by packaging materials and conditions of storage.
Vitamin D
The principal forms are D3 and D2. Commercially available forms of Vitamin D include fat-soluble crystals for use in high fat content foods while stabilized and encapsulated versions are better for use in dry products to be reconstituted with water. These compounds are sensitive to oxygen and light, with the D3 form of the vitamin being slightly more stable.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is obtained from molecular distillation of by-products from vegetable oil refining or by chemical synthesis. The free alcohol form of the vitamin is highly unstable to oxidation and is therefore widely used in foods as an antioxidant to stabilise the lip id component of foods. Esterified forms of the vitamin like acetate are more stable and used for fortification.
Vitamins of the B Complex
Vitamin B1, or thiamine, Thiamine is one of the most unstable vitamins. Its stability to heat and oxidation is greatest at a pH range of 6 and below. At higher values of pH it becomes increasingly unstable. Thiamine can be degraded by some mineral salts in aqueous foods.
Biotin is commercially available in diluted form as the physiological requirement for this vitamin is so low. Biotin is fairly stable to heat, air and light. Vitamin B 2, riboflavin has low water solubility. A commercially available and more water soluble form is sodium salt of riboflavin 5′-phosphate. Riboflavin is generally stable under most processing conditions, but is unstable in alkaline medium. It is very sensitive to light, particularly in the presence of ascorbic acid. Pantothenic acid is very unstable. Stability of this compound is greatest at pH values between 5 and 7.
Vitamin B6, pyridoxine is quite stable to heat and atmospheric oxygen and heat, but degradation is catalysed by metal ions. Niacin in the form of either nicotinic acid or nicotinamide is added to food. At very high levels, nicotinic acid has been shown to cause unpleasant side effects such as flushing and ‘pins and needles’. This has led to some preference for nicotinamide. Both forms of the vitamin are stable to atmospheric oxygen, heat and light in the dry state as well as in solution.
B 12 or Cobalamin is commonly sold highly diluted by a carrier. It is unstable to oxidising and reducing agents and exposure to sunlight, but is fairly stable to heat. Folic acid is moderately stable to heat and atmospheric oxygen. In neutral solution it is quite stable, but instability increases with a shift in pH in either direction. Folic acid is unstable to heat, light, sunlight, oxidising and reducing agents.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is stable in its dry form. Due to its high water solubility, losses due to leaching can be a problem in some processing procedures. In dehydrated citrus juices, the degradation depends on temperature and water activity and also on concentration of salt and sugar pH, oxygen, metal catalysts and the ratio of ascorbic: dehydroascorbic acid. Vitamin C is also used for the prevention of browning in fresh and canned fruit and vegetables, acidification, curing of meat and prevention of haze formation in brewed products besides being used for fortification.
In the fortification process it is important to have a monitoring system in place so that the nutrient concentration is as permitted or according to required levels. High or low levels are not acceptable as there could be a potential health risk of toxicity. The identification and development of fortifying agents that will guarantee product quality and high bioavailability is also a challenging issue. Food fortification is an important tool that can be used to
- prevent specific nutritional deficiencies
- promote a general state of well-being in different populations
- prevent certain chronic diseases
FSSAI has recently issues a draft Regulation on Food Fortificaton.
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