Fortification of industrialized foods with vitamins

Abstract

Vitamins are essential to life. Inadequate eating habits, high caloric intake and metabolic defects lead to micronutrient deficiencies, affecting more than two billion people worldwide. The increasing intake of industrialized foods, combined with low vitamin stability has led to the common practice of adding these nutrients to processed foods. This review discusses the terminology, availability, intake and risk of hypervitaminosis, due to the intake and nutritional importance of foods fortified with vitamins. The addition of nutrients should occur in foods that are effectively consumed by the target population and must meet the real needs of a significant segment of the population. In Brazil, a total of 166 products available in supermarkets are vitamin-enriched. A 10-year study involving children and adolescents in Germany showed that 90% of those surveyed used at least one fortified food. During this 10-year period, 472 fortified products were consumed. The enrichment of foods should be based on the needs of each country and, if possible, regional needs. For instance, in order to increase its intake, Vitamin D is added to foods in Denmark during the winter, mainly for the elderly. However, in Brazil, there is no evidence of the need to fortify food with this vitamin. A survey showed that of the 76 enriched dairy products, 37 contained vitamin D. Food-fortification is a very important strategy to solve nutritional deficiency problems, but it can also cause many health problems.