Food fortification is the process of adding one or more essential nutrients to the food to make sure that there is no deficiency of any nutrient. Though there is no doubt that there are immense benefits of food fortification, the process is not always harmless. Read on to know what are the benefits of food fortification and how can you make the most of it as a consumer.

BENEFITS OF FOOD FORTIFICATION

• Food fortification can help in stopping many neural tube defects. These are birth defects associated with the spine or brain.
• This process can also help prevent many deficiencies like iron deficiencies in kids and vitamin D deficiencies in women.
• This is an excellent way of ensuring that a country has a healthier population as a large section of the population makes use of foods that have been fortified.
• Most food fortification processes don’t pose a health risk to people as the quantities are quite small and the fortification process is regulated by prescribed standards.
• An overdose of nutrients is not very likely as regulations control how much fortification is to be done and quality checks are regularly done.
• People who are consuming fortified foods don’t need to change their food habits or patterns.
• Most societies and cultures have no objection to the food fortification process.
• One of the biggest benefits of food fortification is that it doesn’t change the taste, the feel or the look of the foods in most cases.
• The process of food fortification is a quick one. You can get it done in short order.
• Even the results of food fortification are visible within a few months of fortified foods as the people with a deficiency get to see improvement in their health.
• Thanks to the latest technological innovations, the food fortification process has become quite cost effective as well.
• According to a consensus, every one rupee spent on fortification leads to 9 rupees in benefits to the economy.
• Food fortification is a boon for kids, pregnant women and older adults as these groups are usually more vulnerable to vitamin deficiencies.
• People who follow special diets like vegans practicing veganism can benefit if they have foods that are fortified with vitamin B-12. 

CAUTION

Though there are many benefits of food fortification, there is a need to ensure that consumers stay away from fortified foods that are heavily processed or packaged. These kinds of foods are loaded with high fat, sugar and sodium content.

Even if your meals are loaded with fortified foods, you still need to ensure that you have a varied and well-rounded diet which includes fresh fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods. Food fortification or enrichment should never replace a healthy and balanced diet!

Reuters had recently published a few investigative articles in which it was revealed that ammonia is being used in many foods, especially common foods like cheese, chocolate (acidity controller) and baked goods (leavening agents). If you are also worried about how bad ammonia is for health, how to detect ammonia in food, and how to reduce the levels of ammonia in your body, then reading on will help.

Choose that food pack smartly

Can you think of a life without a pack of munchy-crunchy food pack besides our daily atta, dal, maida stuff? Well, no! But do you read the information well before buying any such product available on e-commerce sites or your nearby store shelves? If the answer is no, then we suggest you start inculcating the habit of reading your food pack labels before shelling out. You can zoom the image of a food pack and see how many calories are there in the food or know whether the organic product you are buying has been approved by food regulatory bodies or not. In this article, we have come up with a few tips that might help you to make healthier and smarter food choices.

Richa Pande

Packaged food items have additives in them for longer shelf life. Food additives are mandatorily declared in the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in a specific pattern. The item which is mentioned first is usually the major ingredient used to prepare the food item, then the net ingredient and so on in descending order of the quantum used in the preparing of the product. Sometimes, the ingredients are even presented as percentage of content. You can base your choices by referring to the ingredient list and the quantum in the food item. It is always recommended that you go through the ingredient list

There are guidelines by food regulatory bodies on how much of these additives can be added to the food items, and food companies generally adhere to them. But you could cross the safety limits for any food additive by consuming excessive amounts of food items containing the same additive daily. It is to be noted that these safety limits are prescribed for adults and kids separately and hence excessive consumption of packaged foodstuffs should be avoided. Another reason why we need to be careful is that these packaged foods are generally high in sugar, fats, and added salt.

INS numbers in the ingredient list

If you go through the ingredient list, you will notice INS numbers. Food additives have several colloquial names. To avoid confusion, universal numbers are allocated to different food additives. In Indian food packs, food additives are either referred to by their common names or by the universal INS numbers. In European Union countries, they are referred to as “E numbers”. Sometimes food manufacturers mention the contentious ingredient with a name which the consumer may be unaware of. Hence the consumer needs to be well informed to avoid being hoodwinked.

Checking the nutritional value of food products before making the purchase

Compare the variants and brands. Check the nutrition panel and compare the nutrition composition of the products. Prefer products that comply with the concept of clean labelling i.e., share complete information about a product. This will guide you in minding your portion sizes. After going through both the products, choose the products with the healthiest nutrition composition.

Make a list of the items before you pick them

Always make a list of items you need before you decide to shop. This helps you in avoiding impulsive shopping. When you buy a product for the first time, read the ingredients list and nutrition table before purchasing the food item. Choose the food item only when you understand its label. It can help you not to make unnecessary purchases and in making healthier choices.

Check the existing front-of pack nutrition labels for quick comprehension

You might not find them in all the food packs in India but some global brands in the Indian market have started labelling nutrients on the front of the pack. From these food packs, one can get an understanding about the apt portion/serving size and calories in one portion/serving item. In some packs, you might also get information about other nutrients of concern like fat, sugar, sodium, and calories.

Choose smaller packs over the large packs for individual consumption

The smaller packets contain fewer calories as compared to the large ones. A 30g chips packet has 150 calories, while a 50g package has 250 calories. Always look for the recommended portion size on the pack.

Choosing food items using food certification and quality symbols- You can look for these food quality and certification marks on your food items to make healthy choices

Food packets have a lot of information on them. It is important that we go through it when we are purchasing a food item for the first time. Making this a habit can help us making healthier food choices in a long run.