Chapter 5

Food Fortification
 What is Food Fortification?

is the practice of deliberately increasing the

content of one or more micronutrients (i.e.,
vitamins and/or minerals) in a food or condiment to
improve the nutritional content and quality of the
food supply (staple foods) and provide a public
health benefit with minimal risk to health.

The addition of micronutrients can help to restore

the micronutrient content lost during processing
It can be carried out by
food manufacturers, or
governments as a public health policy which
aims to reduce the number of people with
dietary deficiencies within a population
 Purpose of Food Fortification

1. Maintain/or Improve nutritional quality of food

2. To increase the added nutritional value of a
product
3. Correct or prevent specific nutritional
deficiencies in the population or in groups at risk
of certain deficiencies
4. Fortification for body building
5. Fortification for medical treatment
6. To provide certain technological functions in
food processing
 Why Do We Need Fortified Food

1. Increased health and diet

2. Illness and disease/disorder
3. Present life style
4. Public health intervention
5. Replaced lost nutrients
6. Nutritional equivalence
7. Appropriate vitamin and minerals
 What are the reasons for fortification?

What are the

reasons for
fortification?

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What are the challenges of fortification?

When adding any of these nutrients to foods

may encounter various challenges.
Areas of concern include dosage,
dispersion, bioavailability and sensory
attributes.
 General Principles for Fortification
Essential nutrients may be appropriately added to
foods for the purpose of:
 Preventing and reducing the risk of
demonstrated deficiency
 One or more essential nutrients
 Health and nutritional quality of foods
If mandatory, it shall be based on severity and
extent of public health need as demonstrated by
accepted scientific evidence
 Fortification in staple food based on the
directions of the government
 Strategies for fortification

Strategies for fortification

Dietary
Agronomical Micronutrient diversification
Biofortification
practices fortification &
supplementation
Discussion

What are the main methods of food

fortification?
 Methods of Food Fortification

Types of
Food
Fortification

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Food Fortification Methods
 Types of Food Fortification
fortify foods that are quite consumed by
the general population

fortify food targeted

to specific population
groups, e.g. small
children

ensure that food is

available in the market
Food to Food Fortification
Food to Food Fortification
Micronutrient fortification
 Biofortification

Refers to nutritionally enhanced food crops with

increased bioavailability that are developed and
grown using
modern biotechnology techniques,
conventional plant breeding, and
agronomic practices
is the process of enriching the nutritional quality of food
crops by the use of
conventional plant breeding
modern biotechnological techniques and
agronomic practices
What are the main objectives of biofortification?

The objectives are:

Improved protein content and quality.
Improved oil content and quality.
Improved vitamin content.
Improved micronutrient and mineral content
Approaches of Biofortification
 Biofortification
The three primary biofortification
approaches for crops are
transgenic, agronomic, &
conventional breeding
Transgenic
crops

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 Other
Examples of
biofortified
crops

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 Home Fortification

Is an innovation aimed at improving diet

quality of nutritional vulnerable groups such as
young children
Commercial & Industrial Fortification

This type of fortification is done in industries like

1.Wheat fortification
2.Oil fortification
3.Rice fortification
 Wheat Flour Fortification
Wheat flour production process steps
 Materials
required to
start a
fortification

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 Micro-feeders/ Dosifiers/ Micro Dosing Units

Repco Model 70 Micro Buhler Micro dosing unit Buhler Micro dosing feeder
Feeder Model: MZMN 400 -20/2 Model: MZMC 20/1
 Micro dosing unit – working principles

Volumetric Gravimetric Loss of weight

Fortificants/ Vitamin-mineral premix/ Premix

Zinc (Zinc oxide)

Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Vitamin B6
Folate (Vitamin B9)
Vitamin B12
Diluents or carrier: Starch or Maltodextrin
Free flowing agent: Silicon Dioxide or
Tricalcium Phosphate
 Ways that the premix can be introduced into the
flour stream

Pneumatic conveying Gravity feed

 Pneumatic Method of Premix Delivery

Feeder

Air
Blower

Venturi
Tube

Flour
 Gravity Method of Premix Delivery

Premix Feeder

Flour In

Mixing Conveyor

Flour Out
 Packaging Materials

Source: http://www.paperbagsltd.co.ke/images/flour_bags-updated.jpg

Source: https://muscatpolymers.com/img/products/ppwoven/liner/2.jpg
 Technology Options

Batch Mixing

The flour and premix are

metered into a mixer that
rapidly blends it and
discharges it into a bin or
packed-out
Source: Flour Millers Tool kit (pp 53), Food Fortification
Initiative, 2016
http://www.ffinetwork.org/implement/documents/
COMPLETE_FMTK2016.ppt
 Technology Options

Continuous mixing

In this process the premix is

continuously metered into the flour
using a precision dossifier
For this method to be satisfactory a
fairly constant flow of flour is required
at the point of addition
It also requires some degree of
mixing after the point of addition
Quality control
activities
during fortified
flour
production

Take samples of fortified flour

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 Edible Oil Fortification
Edible oil production process steps
 Materials
required to
start a
fortification

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Materials required to start a fortification program

1. Mixing tanks 2. Micro dosing pump

Materials required to start a fortification program

3. Fortificants/ Vitamin premix/ Premix

Materials required to start a fortification program

4. Water bath 5. Weighing Balance

Preparation of a Fortificants pre-blend solution

1. Check premix label and calculate addition rate

2. Place premix in water bath for 45 minutes (Temp
40 C)
3. Weight the exact amount of premix required for
batch mixing
4. Mix the premix with 5 liter oil taken from the
refinery and mix well
 Technology options

1. Batch Mixing
2. Two Stage Mixing
3. Continuous Mixing
1. Batch Mixing
 Technology options

2. Two Stage Mixing

3. Continuous Mixing
 Addition Rate Calculation

oBatch Mixing
oContinuous Mixing
 Quality control activities during fortified edible oil
production

Vitamin A is sensitive to light and oxygen, care should be taken

& always stored in opaque bottles in cool, dry places
The pre-blend must be prepared for use per day and not made
and kept in advance
Processing equipment must be adjusted and monitored to
deliver the premix without any leakage or delay
The oil, once fortified, must be packed immediately as the
Vitamins are sensitive to light and oxygen
Quality control activities during fortified edible oil
production

Lab test options for presence of vitamin A

1. Qualitative
2. Semi-qualitative tests
3. Quantitative method
 Qualitative test - principles

Determines the presence of retinol in oil at a concentration

around the cut-off point of 10 mg/L
Retinol present in oil as esters of acetate or palmitate reacts
with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) or equivalent reagent dissolved
in dichloromethane (DCM) to form anhydroretinol
During the reaction of solution of fortified oil and TFA, a blue
color is observed indicating the presence of retinol in the sample
The blue color is short-lived, so if the color develops, it must be
observed within 10 seconds after adding the reagent
 Semi-qualitative test – principles

Similar as above
During the reaction of solution of fortified oil and TFA, a
blue color is observed indicating the presence of retinol in
the sample
The intensity of the color is proportional to the amount
of retinol which can be measured semi-quantitatively by
visual comparison against a reference scale of standard
copper sulfate solutions
 Quantitative test - principles

The method is applicable to oils fortified with vitamin A in the

form of retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate, and it is based
on absorbance of retinol within the UV-Visible near
infrared spectrometry region

Diluting the oil in organic solvents such as dichloromethane,

chloroform or hexane, followed by reading the absorbance
of the solution at 325 nm
 Rice Fortification

Rice fortification is complex

The main technologies those are available to
fortify rice are :
Hot extrusion (70-110°C)
Cold Extrusion (below 70 °C)
Coating
Dusting
Process of Rice Fortification
 Approaches to fortified foods

roduct formulation Modification of Raw materials

Novel processing
Some Minerals and Vitamins Used in
Fortification

Minerals Vitamins
• Iron • Folic Acid (B9)
• Zinc • Thiamine (B1)
• Iodine • Riboflavin (B2)
• Calcium • Niacin (B3)
• Cobalamin (B12)
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
 Criteria for Fortification
Nutrient deficiency should be widespread
The vehicle food must consumed by majority of
the population
The high consumption of fortified food will not
lead to toxicity
The item of food should be centrally controlled
and monitored
There should be no change in the physical
properties of the food (taste, color, flavor, texture
and shelf-life)(consumer acceptability)
The cost of fortification should be affordable
Fortification
Technology

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Fortification
Technology
……

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Advantages
of
Fortification

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Advantages
of
Fortification

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Limitations
of
Fortification

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 Future
challenges of
Food
Fortification

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 Future
challenges of
Food
Fortification

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ANY
QUESTIONS

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Set by Agimassie A. Abera
69