What is the term for adding micronutrients lost during processing back into foods?
|
Since 2011, I’ve lived in Minnesota, part of the “goiter belt,” a term for parts of the U.S. (including the Great Lakes region and Appalachia) where soil levels of iodine are naturally low and iodine-rich foods like seafood and seaweed are not exactly dietary staples. Before the 1920s, over half of the
population in some parts of this region had goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by insufficient iodine intake. In 1924, the U.S. started fortifying salt with iodine, which virtually eradicated the goiter problem. Fortification, or adding nutrients (like iodine) to foods (like salt), has been one of the
most successful public health interventions in U.S. history and has virtually eliminated diseases, like goiter, that are caused by nutrient deficiencies. Beriberi, pellagra, and rickets are also diseases of nutrient deficiencies that have mostly disappeared, thanks to
fortification of other foods with thiamin, niacin, and Vitamin D. While the terms “fortified” and “enriched” can be used interchangeably sometimes, enrichment typically refers to adding nutrients lost during food handling, processing, or storage back to a food.
Fortification, on the other hand, generally refers to foods that have had nutrients added to them that are not naturally occurring in that food (like iodine added to salt). Unlike fortified foods, many enriched foods must have specific amounts of certain vitamins added to them to meet official FDA definitions. One well-known enriched food is refined wheat flour, i.e. white flour. Enriched flour must contain specific amounts of B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid) and iron. Calcium is sometimes added to enriched flour as well. Just as iodine is added to salt to prevent goiter, these B vitamins and iron are added to refined flour to prevent health problems associated with low intake of certain nutrients. Several types of flours and breakfast cereals, for instance, have been fortified with folic acid since 1998, because sufficient folic acid consumption by pregnant women may help prevent birth defects known as neural tube defects. Benefits beyond grains:Several other foods on the market besides white flour and salt are also often fortified or enriched:
Bottom line?Fortification and enrichment of certain foods contribute important nutrients to the American diet. And, in the process, they help protect both me and you from goiter. Nutrient fortification and enrichment has a storied history, dating back to the 1940s with the addition of enrichment mixtures to ready-to-eat cereals, flour and semolina; inclusion of high levels of folic acid in enriched foods became mandatory in 1943. The amount of fortification has increased substantially since the 1960s, starting with the addition of enrichment mixtures to rice, cornmeal, grits and margarine in 1969. When a food product is enriched, it means nutrients that were lost during processing have been added back. An example is adding back some of the vitamins lost when processing wheat to make white flour. On the other hand, fortified means vitamins or minerals have been added to a food that weren't originally present, such as adding vitamin D to milk. The food that carries the nutrient is the vehicle; the nutrient added is the fortificant. Multiple fortifications are the addition of more than one nutrient to a single food vehicle. Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. It can be a business decision for health benefits to provide extra nutrients in a food, or it could be a public policy requirement to reduce dietary deficiencies. Staple foods such as wheat flour, milk and margarine traditionally have been considered for fortification. Fortification requires no change in food habits, does not change the characteristics of the food or taste, if formulated right, and has readily visible benefits. Fortification of foods and beverages is gaining popularity as consumers seek healthy foods not just in natural products outlets, but also in grocery stores and convenience stores. They are also interested in products with various physiological benefits as well as nutrients that address specific health conditions. Common foods that have been fortified include milk and dairy products, cereals, fats and oils, and infant foods. Several factors need to be considered when addressing the issue of developing multi-functional ingredients, including the type of product being fortified, processing conditions, shelf life, specific health benefit, nutrient interactions, regulatory and much more. Some of the major functional food ingredients include vitamins, minerals, botanicals, plant extracts, prebiotics and probiotics. While foods were previously only fortified with more widely known and accepted ingredients such as vitamin C, calcium or vitamin D, consumers are now looking for and open to ingredients and products that offer multiple benefits. This provides a lot of opportunity for a companies to formulate and deliver new fortified products. To address various health concerns and benefits, new ingredients and applications are being developed. Consider the positioning of vitamins C and E and lycopene as antioxidants; calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and vitamins D and K for bone health; selenium and alpha-lipoic acid for anti-aging; into other combinations to address energy, digestive, immune and a host of other issues. Nutrients also can have interactions, some of which are beneficial and some are not desirable. Steps such as encapsulation or masking with flavors can help formulators develop more stable and acceptable products. These factors have to be taken into account when designing a blend for different products, e.g. beverage versus a bar. When missing vitamins and minerals are added to the daily dietmany nutritional deficiencies are seen in combinationdramatic positive results are often the result. For more information, visit INSIDER's Content Library on Functional Foods for articles such as "The Drive for Functionality and the Aging Population" and "Trends in Functional Food and Beverage Marketing." Shelly Dholakia is technical fortification manager for Caravan Ingredients. She has more than 20 years of experience as a formulation scientist as well as in quality management. Her expertise lies in formulating functional foods and supplements in powder, liquid, bar, tablet and capsule categories. What is it called when you replace lost nutrients in food?Overview. Fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing the content of one or more micronutrients (i.e., vitamins and minerals) in a food or condiment to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health.
When nutrients have been added back into food after it has been processed?Fortification is present in common food items in two different ways: adding back and addition. Flour loses nutritional value due to the way grains are processed; Enriched Flour has iron, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine added back to it.
Which nutrients are added back to flour to replace the amounts lost during processing?Enriched flour is flour with specific nutrients returned to it that have been lost while being prepared. These restored nutrients include iron and B vitamins (folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine). Calcium may also be supplemented.
What is it called when nutrients are added to food?Enriched Foods
The word "enriched" means nutrients have been added to replace the ones that have disappeared during the manufacturing process. For example, whole wheat is rich in B-complex vitamins and iron that live in the outer parts of the grain, which is called the hull.
|
