Enhancement of nutritive value of food:
Enhancement of nutritive value of foods can be done by food fortification, enrichment, supplementation, substitution and double fortified salt.
- To meet the nutrition requirements of the body
- to make proper selection and preparation of foods.
- To consume food in a balanced manner.
- To improve the flavour and texture of the food.
- to assist in planning the daily menu, keeping in view the nutrient content of the food.
- To prevent deficiency disease in the body.
- To develop good food habits.
Food fortification: example – double fortified salt (DFS)
Iron and iodin fortified salt are the next breakthrough for tackling iodine an iron deficiency in the country. double fortified salt is an innovative new fortified food product. It helps in delivering small but crucial amount of iodine an iron to human beings through their diet. In general, double fortified salt formulations are intended to provide 100% of daily dietary iodine requirement and 30 to 60% of daily dietary iron requirement. It is a sustainable approach to combat iodine and iron deficiencies in India. NIN has pioneered the development of DFS. It has also taken the initiative to transfer the technology to ionised salt manufacturers in the country and provides continuous quality control.
The micronutrient initiative has developed DFS with encapsulated iron. It is an international not for profit organization dedicated to ensuring that the worlds most vulnerable people get the vitamins and minerals they need to survive and thrive. In 2009, the Ministry of Health and family welfare has endorsed the edition of Iran in DFS at 0.8 to 1.1 ppm (mg/gram of salt).
DFS presents one of the most cost-effective opportunities to deliver two of the most critical micronutrients for mental capacity, maternal and infant survival and human productivity. Every year 9000,000 pregnant women and 8000,000 new-borns are at risk of IDD in India. IDD’s are linked to iodine deficient soil. Do you to glaciations, flooding, rivers changing course and deforestation the iron present in the topsoil is constantly leached. This in turn leads to deficiency of iodine in crops grown on iodine deficient soil with consequently low iodine in the diet for livestock and humans. This deficiency of iodine in the diet can be addressed by fortification of salt that is adding iodine to salt. Salt has been identified as an effective vehicle for iodine because it is consumed almost daily and universally.
The technology has been replicated in factory for stop series of studies conducted that iodine an iron provided through DFS are bioavailable. This would provide 1 mg iron and 30 mg of iodine per gram of salt. The cost of DFS works about rupees 3/ kg.
Food fortification is the safest way to deliver necessary amounts of micronutrients to most of the population in an effective manner. It even reaches secondary target risk groups like the elderly and those who have an unbalanced diet. Attempts have been made in India to 45 water and food to prevent micronutrient deficiency these include – fluoridation of water to control dental caries, I addition of salt to control iodine deficiency disorder, fortification of vanaspati (hydrogenated fat) and milk with vitamins A and D.