by
Sarah Zimmerman, Food Fortification Initiative (FFI)
For chemists, zinc is a transition metal represented by the letters ‘Zn’ on the periodic table
For nutritionists, zinc is an essential mineral required for healthy immune systems and normal growth.
For millers, zinc is a nutrient that can be added to flour or rice to improve their customers’ nutrition.
Infants and children need zinc for normal growth. Children who are too short
for their age are considered stunted. As adults, they often remain shorter than
their peers, and this can limit their work productivity. Pregnant women who are
stunted can also have difficult deliveries.
In a paper published in 2012, researchers used information on stunting prevalence and dietary patterns to estimate zinc nutrition. Their conclusion was that 17 percent of the global population is at risk of inadequate zinc intake.
While people only need small amounts of zinc, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that “worldwide, zinc deficiency is responsible for approximately 16 percent of lower respiratory tract infections, 18 percent of malaria and 10 percent of diarrhoeal disease.”
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases in June 2017 noted that diarrhoea remains a leading cause of death globally. The study estimated that 1.31 million people died from diarrhoea in 2015, including 499,000 children under age five.
While unsafe water and unsafe sanitation remain the leading risk factors, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies contribute to diarrhoea. Zinc is often associated with protein in foods. Thus, red meat, poultry, and seafood are good sources of zinc.
This means that vegetarians and people who cannot afford to purchase meat are at higher risk of zinc deficiency. In addition, the human body has no mechanism to store zinc, so a daily supply is needed.
To increase the population’s zinc intake, 34 countries include zinc in their standards for wheat flour, maize flour, and/or rice fortification, according to the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI).
Cameroon, Fiji, and China
Fortifying with zinc has improved people’s zinc status around the world. In Cameroon, researchers evaluated people’s nutritional status two years before and one year after wheat flour fortification was implemented.
After fortification, they found improvements in iron, zinc, folate, and vitamin B12 status among women and children in urban areas, according to a study recently published in The Journal of Nutrition.
Maternal anemia prevalence was also significantly lower after fortification. In Fiji, a national mandate requires flour to be fortified with zinc, iron, and folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin.
A report from the National Food and Nutrition Centre in Fiji indicates that before fortification, 39 percent of women of childbearing age had zinc deficiency. After fortification was initiated, zinc deficiency among this population was zero.
A three-year project in China showed that fortifying wheat flour with zinc increased zinc levels in blood. Researchers provided fortified flour to 4,700 rural adult women and unfortified flour to 2,750 rural adult women.
The fortified flour included zinc as well as iron, vitamin A, and the following B vitamins: folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. Blood samples were taken annually.
Women who received fortified flour had increased amounts of zinc in their blood samples each year, while the women who received unfortified flour showed no change in the blood zinc levels.
Read the full article, HERE.
Visit the Food Fortification Initiative website, HERE.
For chemists, zinc is a transition metal represented by the letters ‘Zn’ on the periodic table
For nutritionists, zinc is an essential mineral required for healthy immune systems and normal growth.
For millers, zinc is a nutrient that can be added to flour or rice to improve their customers’ nutrition.
 |
| Figure
2: In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 54 percent of the population is at risk of inadequate zinc intake - higher than in other country. Image credit: CIFOR (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0) |
In a paper published in 2012, researchers used information on stunting prevalence and dietary patterns to estimate zinc nutrition. Their conclusion was that 17 percent of the global population is at risk of inadequate zinc intake.
While people only need small amounts of zinc, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that “worldwide, zinc deficiency is responsible for approximately 16 percent of lower respiratory tract infections, 18 percent of malaria and 10 percent of diarrhoeal disease.”
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases in June 2017 noted that diarrhoea remains a leading cause of death globally. The study estimated that 1.31 million people died from diarrhoea in 2015, including 499,000 children under age five.
While unsafe water and unsafe sanitation remain the leading risk factors, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies contribute to diarrhoea. Zinc is often associated with protein in foods. Thus, red meat, poultry, and seafood are good sources of zinc.
This means that vegetarians and people who cannot afford to purchase meat are at higher risk of zinc deficiency. In addition, the human body has no mechanism to store zinc, so a daily supply is needed.
To increase the population’s zinc intake, 34 countries include zinc in their standards for wheat flour, maize flour, and/or rice fortification, according to the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI).
Cameroon, Fiji, and China
Fortifying with zinc has improved people’s zinc status around the world. In Cameroon, researchers evaluated people’s nutritional status two years before and one year after wheat flour fortification was implemented.
After fortification, they found improvements in iron, zinc, folate, and vitamin B12 status among women and children in urban areas, according to a study recently published in The Journal of Nutrition.
Maternal anemia prevalence was also significantly lower after fortification. In Fiji, a national mandate requires flour to be fortified with zinc, iron, and folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin.
A report from the National Food and Nutrition Centre in Fiji indicates that before fortification, 39 percent of women of childbearing age had zinc deficiency. After fortification was initiated, zinc deficiency among this population was zero.
A three-year project in China showed that fortifying wheat flour with zinc increased zinc levels in blood. Researchers provided fortified flour to 4,700 rural adult women and unfortified flour to 2,750 rural adult women.
The fortified flour included zinc as well as iron, vitamin A, and the following B vitamins: folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. Blood samples were taken annually.
Women who received fortified flour had increased amounts of zinc in their blood samples each year, while the women who received unfortified flour showed no change in the blood zinc levels.
Read the full article, HERE.
Visit the Food Fortification Initiative website, HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
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