Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to give an overview about iron fortification from the view of technique and health. Example of a technical aspect is different iron compounds which are used for fortification like ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate and elemental iron. In the aspect of health the big question is if iron fortification can improve the health in reducing the prevalence of anemia. The study focuses on flour fortification with iron in Egypt and Iran and involves a literature study with scientific articles. Also information from WHO (World Health Organization), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and FFI (Flour Fortification Initiative) are used.

Fortification means an intentionally increasing of the content of micronutrient in foods with the aim to improve the food quality and deliver a nutritional benefit to the consumer. It is very difficult to fortify flour with iron because the iron compounds that tend to be most bioavailable also tend to integrate with the food and form unfavorable taste- and color formations.

According to WHO and FAO (2006) the highest prevalence among micronutrient deficiency is iron deficiency and the problem exists both in industrialized and non-industrialized countries. In Egypt the frequency of malnutrition and anemia is very high and the iron fortified flour is used for the production of subsidized baladi bread in purpose to reduce the anemia with 28 % in five years. Iran has fortified the flour with iron since 2001 and evaluations have shown a decrease of iron deficiency, increasing of anemia and no change in the frequency of iron deficiency anemia. The diagnosis of anemia is low blood hemoglobin but the hemoglobin can negatively be affected by other things than iron deficiency like malaria, infections and inflammations. Therefore it is important to separate anemia and iron deficiency anemia from each other. It is difficult to say if the iron fortification will reduce the anemia in Egypt’s population which the iron fortification in Iran not yet has shown. Egypt’s government can need to take further steps than just iron fortification of flour in the work to reduce the anemia because iron deficiency is not always the reason to anemia.