2001 AACC Annual Meeting Charlotte, North Carolina October 14-18, 2001 Charlotte Convention Center

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem. It affects more than 100 million children and causes as many as one out of every four child deaths in areas where VAD exists. Fortification of staple foods is one of the most economical, sustainable, safe and effective intervention tools available and vitamin A in particular strengthens the availability of iron. Sugar fortification has yielded dramatic improvements in public health in Central America and has been recently adopted in Zambia. South Africa and the Philippines have successfully implemented fortification of cereal flours with vitamin A, proving its effectiveness, based on the widespread consumption of these foods and the simplicity of the technology needed. Important technical issues to consider are dosing, achievement of homogeneity, stability of the micronutrient per se, and in the final product, equipment needed, available commercial forms of vitamin A, and particle size criteria to be met. The cost impact of fortification on the price of the food is very low, ranging from 0.2 to 2%. In terms of the cost for the population, most interventions cost below 0.1 US dollar per capita per year. Fortification of cereal flours is an excellent alternative in countries where other vehicles are not widely consumed or may present technical barriers that are difficult to overcome, or where a greater ubiquity of micronutrients in the food chain is desirable.