Vitamin fortification of foods

Food fortification is the addition of nutrients to foods without the intention of replacing nutrients lost in preparation. The added nutrient may or may not have been present in the original food.

An evaluation of the possible health impact of niacin fortification of cereal grains in the US showed that fortification played a significant role in the decline so pellagra attributed mortality in the 1930s and 1940s and finally in the elimination of pellagra in the country.

In 1992, US FDA ruled that all cereal grain products be fortified with 140 μg folic acid per 100 g, and that additional of folic acid be allowed for breakfast cereals, infant formulae, medical and specials dietary foods and meal replacement products.

The US folate-fortification program increased folate intakes and more than doubled circulating levels of the vitamin, reduced plasma Hcy levels, and reduced the incidence of NTDs (neural tube defects).

Folate fortification is also reported to be associated with a 60% reduction in neuroblastoma, and embryonic tumor, among Canadian children.
Vitamin fortification of foods