Food fortification in India as malnutrition concern: a global approach

Abstract

Food fortification is a cost-effective process of adding essential micronutrients to food products in order to address the issue of malnutrition, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Hidden Hunger’. The earliest food fortification was suggested by a French chemist in 1820, with a proposal of fortifying salt with iodine. However, food fortification today can be achieved by different novel methods such as biofortification, industrial fortification and food to food fortification. Globally, many developing countries are experiencing nutritional deficiencies in their population, which can be considered as a silent epidemic. This is due to various factors such as disrupted supply chains, increased food prices, and loss of income, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed countries are successfully reducing malnutrition by introducing novel fortified food options. Moreover, middle-income countries like India are on their way to mitigating the problem of malnutrition by initiating nutrition programmes in coordination with the central and state governments and the global organizations. The present review explores the concept of food fortification in India along with the status of malnutrition and possible ways to eradicate it with fortification.