Global Study Links Five Fortified Foods to 15 Micronutrients

Researchers at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health recently conducted the first global analysis to analyze the potential dietary contribution of five different fortified foods to 15 nutrients. Helena Pachón, PhD, MPH, research professor, was senior author of the article, published in a special issue of Nutrients.

Utilizing data from 153 countries as reported in the Global Fortification Data Exchange, the researchers analyzed country- and food-specific data for fortification nutrient levels, daily food intake, food industrially processed, and food that is fortified. Findings revealed that based on country data, the use of fortified maize flour, oil, rice, salt, and wheat flour can add up to 15 micronutrients to a consumer’s diet.

This research reveals that in addition to preventing neural tube defects, food fortification may also provide nutritional benefits when fortification programs are carefully implemented at a country level.

“Specifically, these results can help those working in fortification at the country level to determine if there are changes that need to be made to the foods that are fortified, the nutrients and levels that are added to the foods, and the monitoring that occurs to ensure food producers reliably and consistently produce fortified food,” says Pachón.

This project was a multi-institutional collaboration sparked by the MPH thesis of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health student, Bethany Reynolds. Collaborators include the Food Fortification Initiative, Iodine Global Network, and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.