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doi:10.1094/CFW-52-5-0269 |
VIEW ARTICLE Micronutrient Fortification of Mass-Consumed Commodities: A Question of Priorities H. Weinstein. WC International, Arlington, VA. Cereal Foods World 52(5):269-272. The implementation of micronutrient fortification has not been shown to be as successful as expected as it relates to the investment (cost/benefit) made in all kinds of resources by the private sector, NGOs, and other international agencies. The obstacle, specifically in developing countries, basically stems from two main sources: 1) nutrition does not have a high priority within these governments, and 2) aspects of quality assurance require resources that are scarce and compete with higher priority items like education, health services, etc., in the public budgets. Many ways of reaching the desired goals have been tried, including the donation of equipment needed for fortification; the gift of vitamin and mineral mixes to industry; NGO-supported training and technical support for other agencies, governments, and industry to improve the personnel implementing the program’s objectives; and much more. At the end, we always find that the only way that a program is sustainable and therefore beneficial to the population is if the government installs the minimum programs (monitoring) to assure that the mass consumed commodities are fortified. When this happens, the industry commits to the fortification and absorbs some costs and the consumers demand fortified products via their support and purchasing power.
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