BACKGROUND The WHO recommends assessing food and nutrient intakes to design food-fortification programs, but nationally representative dietary data are seldom available in low-income countries. OBJECTIVE Prior to initiation of food fortification in Cameroon, we measured intake of vitamin A (VA) and fortifiable foods (vegetable oil, sugar, wheat flour, and bouillon cube) to simulate the effect...

A before-after review was undertaken to assess whether knowledge and practices related to iodine nutrition, supplementation and fortification has improved in Australian women since the introduction of mandatory iodine fortification in 2009. Surveys of pregnant (n = 139) and non-pregnant (n = 75) women in 2007-2008 are compared with surveys of pregnant (n = 147) and lactating women (n = 60) one ...

Micronutrient deficiencies remain a significant public health issue in Southeast Asia, particularly in vulnerable populations, such as women of reproductive age and young children. An important nutrition-specific intervention to address micronutrient malnutrition is fortification of staple foods and condiments. In October 2013, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Southeast Asia Reg...

OBJECTIVE To create a general framework for the simulation of intakes from mandatory or voluntary fortification, which will make outcomes of simulation studies more comparable and give insight on uncertainties. DESIGN A general framework was developed based on methods used in already published case studies of mandatory fortification. The framework was extended to be suitable for the simulatio...

Objective: To investigate the impact of fortification by comparing food records and selected biochemical indicators of nutritional status preand post-fortification. Design: Mean intake from 24 h recalls (n 142) was compared with the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) to determine the proportion with inadequate intake. In a subsample (n 34), diet and serum retinol, folate, ferritin and Zn were ...

Micronutrient malnutrition is a major global public health problem affecting more than a third of the world population. Consequences of this malnutrition are widespread and severe. It has been estimated that iron deficiency impairs the mental development of 40 to 60% of children in developing countries, vitamin A deficiency affects 40% of children,5 y of age in the developing world and is a fac...

This article presents data on the fortification of foods, necessary as an important public health approach for the success in reducing anemia. The use of food vehicles, iron salts and their costs, as well as recent work on iron fortification of foods in Brazil are reviewed. Recent research serves as a cornerstone for countries that attempt to implement permanent, long-lasting iron fortification...

Folate has received international attention regarding its role in the risk-reduction of birth defects, specifically neural tube defects (NTDs). In 1998, health officials in Canada, like the United States, mandated the addition of folic acid to white flour and select grain products to increase the folate intake of reproductive-aged women. Subsequent to this initiative there has been an increase ...

Adequate intake of folic acid by women during very early pregnancy can markedly reduce risk of the development of neural-tube defects (NTD). The effectiveness of advice to women to take folic acid supplements is limited, mainly because 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. However, mandatory folic acid food fortification programmes in North America have been very successful in reducing NTD rates. I...

Targeted fortification programs for infants and young children are an effective strategy to prevent micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries, but the role of large-scale fortification of staple foods and condiments is less clear. Dietary modeling in children aged 6-60 months was undertaken, based on food consumption patterns described in the 2009 national food consumption survey, usin...