1

FOOD FORTIFICATION PROGRAM (FFP) PAKISTAN

Submitted By: Muzamil Tariq
Roll No: DDNS-FA18-006
 2

Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Pakistan’s long standing burden of malnutrition
• Food fortification
• Food Fortification Programmes
• Strengthening large scale food fortification
• Vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and Multiple Nutrient
Fortification
• Foods fortified with Vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and
premixes
 3

Saving lives through

food fortification in
Pakistan
(2016 – 2021)
 4

Pakistan's long-standing burden of

malnutrition
• More than half of the women and children in Pakistan
lack adequate levels of essential micronutrients such as
iron, folic acid, iodine, vitamin A, and vitaminD.

• Poor nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in

childhood have profound effects on immunity, growth,
and cognitive development.
(Allen et al., 2006)
 5

• According to recent estimates by the United Nations

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 37.5
million people in Pakistan are not receiving proper
nourishment.
(Ramakrishnan U and Yip R, 2002)
 6

Food Fortification
Food fortification is a technique of adding nutrients to
foodstuffs as a public health policy or as commercial preference
to provide extra nutrients in a food product to trim down the
number of people with dietary deficiencies.

Sometimes the staple diet of a region may be deficient in

particular nutrients due to the soil of the area, or due to the
intrinsic scantiness of the diet.

However, in such cases, fortification of staple diet and

condiments can prevent large-scale deficiency diseases
(Walker et al., 2007)
 7

Food Fortification Programmes

• Pakistan launched several programmes to combat
nutritional disorders including:
• Universal Salt Iodization Programme,
• Iodine Nutrition Programme,
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
• Assisted National Wheat Flour Fortification Project
• World Food Programme.
• Vitamin A fortification Programmes
(Akhtar et al., 2004)
 8

Strengthening large-
scale food fortification
 9

Vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and Multiple

Nutrient Fortification
•Nutrition International, in collaboration with Mott
MacDonald, is implementing a large-scale food fortification
program in 56 districts across Pakistan to support the
national and provincial governments’ fortification efforts.

•Widely consumed wheat flour and edible oils will be

fortified with essential micronutrients to reduce deficiencies
in iron, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and vitamin D,
particularly among women and children.
(Hurrell et al., 2002)
 10

Foods fortified with Vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and

premixes

• Whole wheat
• Iron
• Sugar
• Oils
• Salt
• Tea
• Milk
 11

Implementation of
Project
 12

• This project supports the fortification of micronutrients in

food commodities by:

• Building capacity of millers on fortification processes and

quality assurance and quality control, and providing testing
equipment to ensure adequate fortification.
• Building public sector capacity to improve standards and
legislation, and improve lab infrastructure of regulatory bodies
so they can enforce fortification standards.
• Establishing a market-led premix supply chain to facilitate
fortification.
• Promoting the benefits of fortification for communities through
public awareness and education campaigns to increase demand
and promote fortified food consumption.
(Hurrell, 1997)
 13

References
• Allen L, deBenoist B, Dary O, Hurrell R. Guidelines on food
fortification with micronutrients. WHO. Geneva: 2006.
• Ramakrishnan U, Yip R. Experiences and challenges in
industrialized countries: Control of iron deficiency in
industrialized countries. J Nutr. 2002;132:820S-824S
• Walker SP, Wachs TD, Gardner JM. Child development: risk
factors for adverse outcomes in developing countries. Lancet.
2007; 369:145–157.
• Akhtar P, Rehman KU, Orfi SD, Ahmad N. Assessment of
iodine levels in the Pakistani diet. Original Research Article
Nutrition, September 2004;20:783-787
 14

• Hurrell R, Bothwell T, Cook JD, Dary O, Davidsson L,

Fairweather TS, Hallberg L,Lynch S, Rosado J, Walter T,
Whittaker P. The usefulness of elemental iron for cereal
flour fortification: A SUSTAIN Task Force report.
Sharing United States Technology to Aid in the
Improvement of Nutrition. Nutr Rev. 2002;60:391–406

• Hurrell RF. Preventing iron deficiency through food

fortification. Nutrition Rev. 1997;55:210-222