Food fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in a food to improve its nutritional quality by providing public health benefit with minimal risk to health.

The public health benefits of fortification include but are not limited to prevention or minimization of the risk of occurrence of micronutrient deficiency in a population or specific population groups and contribution to the correction of a demonstrated micronutrient deficiency in a population. Typical foods fortified include cereals and cereal based products (mainly wheat and maize flours); milk and milk products; fats and oils; infant formulas and various beverages.

Types, methods and examples of fortification

Types of fortification

Three major types of fortification have been recognized. Firstly, mass fortification consists of the addition of micronutrients to edible products that are commonly consumed by the general public, such as cereals, oils and vegetable fats, milk, sugar, and condiments. In addition, targeted fortification is the practice of adding sufficient amounts of micronutrients to provide large proportions of the daily needs through foods designed for specific population subgroups, such as complementary foods for infants and foods used under emergency situations. And finally, market-driven fortification refers to voluntary practices of the food industry to increase the nutrient content and added value of a highly processed product with the purpose of attracting consumers and increasing sales.

Methods of food fortification

Main methods of food fortification are named so as to indicate the procedure that is used in order to fortify a certain food type. Those are bio fortification (breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can include:

• Conventional (selective breeding and modern genetic modification);
• Commercial and industrial fortification (flour, rice, oils common cooking foods);
• Home fortification for example vitamin D drops and
• Synthetic biology for example the addition of probiotic bacteria to foods.

Fortified foods and beverages (Examples)

Globally, many beverages and food products have been fortified however, in order for a product to be fortified; it must first be proven that the addition of this mineral or vitamin is beneficial to health and safe. Examples of foods and beverages that have been fortified and shown to have positive health effects include but are not limited to cereals which have high carbohydrates content and when fortified with B vitamin, significantly decrease the homocysteine concentrations in consumers; and this can lower the risk of vascular disease and dementia. In addition to that, bread is composed of whole grains or white flour and it is often fortified with folic acid, a B vitamin also known as folate and in many industrialized countries, the addition of folic acid to flour has prevented a significant number of neural tube defects in infants.

Soy milk is derived from soy beans and it is used as an alternative to regular milk by people who have allergies or are strict vegetarians. It is high in protein and is often fortified with calcium, which it does not naturally contain. Milk is high in calcium, protein, fat and is often fortified with vitamins A and D for bone health. Salt is high in sodium and is used on many different foods to add flavor, it is fortified with iodine and this benefits thyroid function. Finally, sterols and stanols which are naturally-occurring substances found in various plant and animal cells can be used as fortificants. Foods that are fortified with those substances include yogurt, margarine, chocolate, cheese and orange juice.

WHAT DO RELEVANT STANDARDS DESCRIBE?

RS EAS 767:2012 Fortified wheat flour— Specification,

According to this standard,factories should aim at fortifying the products at the recommended factory level to ensure the product conforms to the regulatory levels throughout the distribution chain. For hygiene, it is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this standard be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with EAS 39: 2000, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industry – Code of practice and the product shall be free from pathogenic micro-organisms. When tested by appropriate methods, the standard RS EAS 767:2012 specifies that the product shall conform to the following limits of microorganisms: Yeast and Molds CFU per gram shall be 104, and.Escherichia coli shall be absent.

RS EAS 35: 2013 Fortified food grade salt—Specification

According to this standard, a fortified food grade salt is the salt to which micronutrients have been added. Fortified food grade salt shall be fortified with potassium iodate to conform to the recommended factory levels of iodine of 40±5 mg/kg.

RS EAS 770:2013 Fortified sugar—Specification

This standard specifies that the fortified sugar shall conform to the requirements and the factory levels of vitamin A of 10±5 mg/kg.

RS EAS 769:2012 Fortified edible oils and fats —Specification

Edible fats and oils are food stuffs which are composed of glycerides of fatty acids of vegetable, animal or marine origin. They may contain small amounts of other lipids such as phosphatides, unsaponifiable constituents and free fatty acids naturally present in the fat or oil. The edible fats and oils shall be fortified with vitamin A (Retinyl palmitate) ad shall conform to the recommended factory levels of 35±5 mg/kg.

Most of the time, fortification is considered same as enrichment though they slightly differ. Both terms mean that nutrients have been added to make the food more nutritious. Fortification implies that vitamins or minerals that were not originally in a certain type of food have been added to it. An example is adding vitamin D to milk. On the other hand, enrichment means that nutrients that were lost during food processing have been added back. An example is adding back certain vitamins lost in processing wheat to make white flour.

Rwanda Standards Board encourages investments in the area of food fortification to curb malnutrition and other nutrient deficiency -bone diseases. While some fortified food products have been awarded RSB Standardization Mark, consumers are encouraged to refer to them as solution guaranteeing healthy lives and sustainable development.