Iron-Fortified Infant Cereals

Abstract

Infants are particularly susceptible to iron deficiency and related anemia due to their high growth rates and the low iron content of breast milk and most unfortified weaning foods. Cows' milk also is poor in iron, and certain forms of cows' milk cause blood and thus iron loss from the gastrointestinal tract. Iron-fortified cereal-based complementary foods -infant cereals -are recommended to supply the iron needs of older infants. Fortified infant cereals contain much more iron than other fortified cereal products -up to ten or fifteen times as much. Highly or slightly soluble iron salts have excellent bioavailability, but affect color and reduce chemical stability, so these iron salts are not commonly used to fortify infant cereals. Insoluble sources of iron, such as the iron phosphates, were used historically to fortify infant cereals, but these sources have very poor bioavailability. Infants depending on these cereals for iron suffered from high rates of iron deficiency and anemia. Elemental iron of small particle size, particularly electrolytic iron, currently is the generally accepted vehicle for infant cereal fortification. Iron-fortified cereal made with electrolytic iron reduces iron deficiency and related anemia in several settings but unfortunately is not fully protective in all. Ascorbic acid is a known enhancer of iron bioavailability but ascorbic acid is heat-labile and ascorbic activity declines rapidly during storage. Nonetheless, adding ascorbic acid during processing appears to improve the availability of electrolytic iron and thus the reliability of iron-fortified infant cereal as a means of preventing iron deficiency in older infants.

Nutritional food content of seed and effects of five different growing media on the seed germination and seedling growth of Afzelia africana SM Caesalpiniaceae

“…According to the Australian Oilseeds Federation (2013) the most appropriate storage conditions for oilseeds are to maintain the temperature of the seed below 20°C and seed moisture less than 7%.The sample contained sufficient amount of ash (3.30%) that was within the range of ash (2.88 and 3.2%) detected by Ejikeme et al (2010), implying that it is rich in mineral elements. The iron content of the seed is 0.756 mg/100 g, while the recommended daily intake of iron is about 15 mg. Iron deficiency has been identified as the most common nutritional deficiency disease on the planet, particularly among pregnant women than infants and young children being the two most vulnerable demographic groups (Theuer, 2008). This situation which may be combated by altering dietary practices (Ziegler and Fomon, 1996) will be alleviated by frequent consumption of iron rich foods.…”

Efficiency of Novel Antimicrobial Coating Based on Iron Nanoparticles for Dairy Products’ Packaging

“…The safety of the application of ferrous iron and especially nano-compounds of ZVI, in packaging materials, is also the subject of many discussions [31][32][33]. No harmful effects of iron on human organisms were found, even nano-iron supplements are used to thread anemia [34][35][36]. Their beneficial effect on iron deficiency anemia occurs at doses from 3 mg to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.…”

The effect of citric acid and ascorbyl palmitate in palm oil enriched with heme iron: A model for iron fortification in bakery products

“…Both heme and inorganic iron forms have been used in fortification programs . Although heme iron ingredients have not been yet authorized for iron fortification in the European Union, in other countries such as Japan and Mexico its addition to food products has been already authorized .…”