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November 26, 2019

Fortification: Excessive nutrient risk calls for thoughtful approach

by Sarah Zimmerman, FFI

From folate-enriched eggs to iron fortified chocolate, the list of foods with added nutrients seems to be growing faster than bread rises. Though a single serving of one fortified food rarely provides excessive nutrients, some people worry that consuming multiple fortified foods, in combination with other vitamin and mineral intake, might be too much of a good thing.


This concern can be addressed by coordinating the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of simultaneous nutrition programmes, according to reports from a 2017 technical consultation convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Reports from the meeting were published in June 2019.
 

“This is a call for country leaders to evaluate all the sources of nutrients and be thoughtful about what is being provided to consumers,” said Dr Helena Pachón, Senior Nutrition Scientist for the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI) who attended the 2017 consultation.

Defining what an excess of vitamins and minerals means is challenging because at least nine organisations have published “upper levels” for individuals to safely consume on a daily basis. The WHO meeting report stresses that upper levels are not toxic if they are surpassed occasionally. Instead healthy people should avoid consistently exceeding the upper levels.

Pachón said the consequences of excessive intakes of some nutrients, such as vitamin B12, are negligible. She said country leaders should pay more attention to limiting intake of nutrients that can pose a danger at high levels.


Read more HERE.
 

The Global Miller
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