Fortification Contributed Greatly to Vitamin and Mineral Intakes in the United States, 1989–1991

Abstract

The objective of this work was to quantify the contribution of fortification (defined here as adding nutrients beyond traditional enrichment standards) to dietary nutrient intakes in the United States. A list of fortified foods was developed that was relevant at the time of the analyses, and prefortification (naturally occurring) nutrients in the fortified foods were determined from industry-supplied data. Using dietary data from the 1989-1991 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII), intakes of nine nutrients were determined both as reported in the CSFII (i.e., postfortification) and also by using prefortification nutrient levels for the identified fortified foods. We report data for the total population age >/= 1 y based on respondents (n = 11,710) with 3 d of dietary data, as well as select age/gender subgroups. All data were weighted. Fortification substantially increased the intakes of all nutrients examined except calcium, in all age/gender groups but especially in children. In numerous cases, fortification was responsible for boosting median or 25th percentile intakes from below to above the RDA. The breakfast cereal category was responsible for nearly all the intake of nutrients from fortified foods, except vitamin C for which juice-type beverages made as great or a greater contribution. These data from 1989 to 1991 serve as a useful baseline with which to compare contributions of fortification as the practice expands. The large contribution of fortification even in 1989-1991 suggests that continued monitoring of fortification practices, using methods such as those presented here, is important.

Use of voluntarily fortified foods among adults in Finland

“…The choice of a fortified product may also Table 1 The total amount of voluntarily fortified food purchased, by food group and added nutrient, among random subgroup of 918 adult participants (aged 25-64 years) in the National Use of voluntarily fortified foods 805 be based on attributes other than fortification, such as taste, familiarity, convenience and price (8) . Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are the most commonly used voluntarily fortified foods worldwide (9)(10)(11)(12) . In Ireland (12) , these have somewhat the same role yoghurts and juice drinks do in Finland: they are widely used and are most often fortified.…”

National fortification of staple foods can make a significant contribution to micronutrient intake of South African adults

“…This would most probably be due to the fact that the rural areas in South Africa are more economically and socially deprived than the urban ones 33 . Berner et al 34 evaluated the effects of food fortification on the diet of Americans older than 1 year. In a similar process to the present study, the researchers theoretically calculated micronutrient values of food, with and without fortification.…”

Micronutrient Fortification of Food: Issues for Asia

“…Numerous studies have shown that fortified foods provide a significant source of vitamins and minerals in the US and help prevent deficiencies (9)(10)(11)(12). For example, without fortification it was estimated that over 50% of the US population would have intakes of thiamin below the estimated average requirement (EAR), while with fortification the level is below 5%.…”