We are a wealthy nation. Abundance is everywhere and food is now so plentiful, food prices have dropped to a 60-year low as a percentage of income spent. And while obesity levels in the United States have started to level out, excessive calorie intake is still an epidemic, with some two-thirds of the population overweight or obese.
Yet with all this food richness, too many Americans are nutritionally poor. Last fall, Medical Economics presented data in “The American Nutrient Gap: And How Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Can Help Fill It,” showing that “the diets of more than 90 percent of Americans fall short in providing the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) or Adequate Intake (AI) for one or more vitamins and minerals.”
Using data from the comprehensive and ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services findings, the report revealed that Americans aren’t getting enough of the vitamins A, C, D, and E; the minerals magnesium, calcium, and zinc; or of the nutritional components dietary fiber and choline. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in their Second National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition, revealed that a significant number of Americans are not getting enough vitamin B6 or iron.
All these reports singled out the persistently low intake of healthier foods—especially fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—in the Western diet. And, while supplement usage can go a long way to rectify these shortfalls, studies show that consumers, especially older consumers, are avoiding unnecessary pills and potions. This means that to get people back on the healthy eating track, more of the foods they love to eat will need fortification.
Fortification has proven to be one of the fastest, least expensive and most efficient methods to shore up deficiencies in the diet. The value of food and beverage fortification simply cannot be overstated. One of the best examples was the mandatory fortification of the B vitamin folate, begun in 1996. Folic acid, while an important nutrient for multiple metabolic functions, and known to reduce the risk of certain cancers, is best known for its ability to strongly reduce the risk of an infant being born with a neural tube birth defect (NTD).
According to the National Institutes of Health, the action was “considered one of the most successful public health initiatives in the past 50–75 years” and, put quite simply, “national programs to mandate fortification of food with folic acid have reduced the prevalence of NTDs worldwide.” In fact, shortly after full implementation, NTD incidents fell by 19-32 percent and hit their lowest prevalence of only five to six cases per 10,000.
Voluntary vitamin D fortification in milk since the 1930s has accomplished a similar success in America, turning rickets—common during the Great Depression—into a rare disease. A similar history of iodine supplementation through food fortification all but wiped out goiter (thyroid disease) in the United States, which had reached epidemic proportions in multiple pockets of the country.
Alarmingly, diseases like goiter and rickets have begun to creep up again in certain corners where the intake of fortified foods is decreasing, whether through misperceptions (such as movements to avoid iodized salt) or through demographic situations (such as avoidance of dairy—as noted above, the main source of vitamin D in the United States—by certain ethnic groups known to have a high incidence of lactose intolerance).
Still, whether actively or passively, consumers do take advantage of fortified food and beverage products. A 2014 report by Euromonitor International revealed that “the market for fortified/functional products will record a strong, constant annual growth.” Globally, it has topped $12 billion annually.
While all of this means that fortification of foods and beverages with important—and often missed—nutrients is more crucial than ever, fortification must also be done right. According to the Watson quality and nutritional R&D team, “when formulating dietary supplements or fortified foods, formulators must consider the chemical and physical properties of each micronutrient to be used, as well as their compatibility with the finished product.”
Today’s fortification technology, guided by the skill of experienced ingredient science and technology experts, can help food and beverage developers and manufacturers create tasty, attractive products. In fact, it often is possible to begin the fortification process with an ingredient technician remotely, before beginning to construct the actual formula. By careful fortification of the foods and beverages consumers want, processors can invite consumer acceptance and avoid unnecessary expenses associated with such impediments as inappropriately high overages, poor shelf life, and negative flavors.