The Social Safety Nets Team, HDNSP and the Health, Nutrition & Population Unit, HDNHE are pleased to sponsor a presentation by

Patrick Webb, Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University
and
W. Kirk Miller, General Sales Manager, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Chair: Harold Alderman, Adviser, AFTHD

Comments by Darren Dorkin, Senior Operations Officer, HDNHE

Micronutrient deficiencies represent a largely invisible but often devastating form of malnutrition that is particularly prevalent among beneficiary populations already lacking sufficient food.  Dramatically increased staple food prices around the world are forcing households to reduce their consumption of micronutrient rich foods, which will have a range of health consequences, including an incease in, and exacerbation of pre-existing, micronutrient deficiencies.  While working towards long-term solutions to the food price crisis, governments and agencies should support fortification and food-based strategies to address micronutrient malnutrition among vulnerable population groups in the short and medium term.  The World Bank has been providing assistance to several countries in the form of budget support that indirectly provide funds for food based programs in several countries.  Is it possible to address micronutirent deficiency in those countries?

The aim of fortification is to increase intake of one or more nutrients that are inadequate in the food supply.  This can be done in three ways:

1. Restoring the nutrients lost during food processing;
2. Increasing the level of a nutrient above that normally found in the food, for example adding extra iron to wheat flour or extra calcium to milk; and
3. Adding nutrients that are not normally present in a food which is nevertheless a good vehicle for delivering micronutrients to the consumer, for example putting vitamin A into sugar, or iodine into salt.

This is the first of a series of presentations on this topic.

This seminar will explore the possibilities and challenges of fortification in food based safety nets.  The fortification of processed foods used for maternal and child nutrition or school meal interventions is feasible and is done more and more often.  The fortification of foods distributed to the general population such as wheat, maize, oil, pulses and rice it is more difficult and challenging and might not be feasible or cost effective for all types of foods.  Challenges include: (i) technical and managerial capacity, (ii) the need for systematic compliance and harmonization with procurement specifications and quality control, which might be even more difficult if the food is procured locally in developing countries, (iii) clearer policies on micronutrient content labeling, and (iv) the need for cash resources to support many aspects associated with local processing and fortification activities, particularly the cost of premix during rising food prices.

Presentation & Background Materials

"Addressing Micronutrient Deficiency in Food Based Safety Nets: Is Fortification the Answer?" (1.6mb pdf) by Patrick Webb

Nutrition in the Perfect Storm: Why Micronutrient Malnutrition will be a Widespread Health Consequence of High Food Prices (1.75mb pdf). Christine Klotz, Saskia de Pee, Andrew Thorne-Lyman, Klaus Kraemer, Martin Bloem

Micronutrient Fortification: WFP Experiences and Ways Forward (356kb pdf) (2004)
Rome, 24–26 May 2004