By Donna Berry, Contributing Editor
Since the early 1930s, most dairy processors have been voluntarily adding vitamin D to fluid milk to prevent rickets, a bone-debilitating disease that was prevalent at the time and linked to a deficiency in this fat-soluble vitamin. Since then, many food and beverage manufacturers have been adding vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to everyday foods because of research showing they are lacking in the diet. These efforts also add marketing value by creating a point of differentiation in the crowded marketplace.
“And though the supplement market remains strong and continues to grow, many consumers prefer to get their nutrients from everyday foods," says Alice Wilkinson, vice president, nutritional product development and quality, Watson Foods Co., West Haven, CT. "Fortification is a great way to help consumers fill the gaps for nutrients that they need more of."
Dennis Gordon, professor emeritus, North Dakota State University, Fargo, and an industry consultant residing in Cathlamet, WA, concurs: “Foods nourish, not supplements; thus, foods and beverages should be the primary way we receive all our energy and nutrient needs. But deficiencies exist for certain nutrients among specific population segments. And that’s when fortification is logical."
The right to fortify
“Without a doubt, fortified foods can play a significant supporting role in the well-being of today’s consumers," says Ram Chaudhari, Ph.D., FACN, CNS, senior executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Fortitech Inc., Schenectady, NY.
Interestingly, FDA made a decision in the 1940s that it would not require mandatory fortification for any food product. This policy remains; however, mandatory enrichment does exist when a product is formulated to conform to the standard of identity for the enriched version of the food.
Formulators don’t have to enrich, but if they do, and a standard exists for the enriched product, the product must conform to the levels of nutrients specified. For every standard of identity for an enriched version of a food, there is a corresponding standard of identify for an unenriched version. The most recent standard of identity change became effective in January 1998, specifying that any grain products labeled as enriched have to include specified levels of folic acid.
“The agency has a policy that encourages fortification and identifies fortification practices with labeling requirements, but these are not rigid standards," says Jonathan Hopkinson, senior applications scientist, Danisco USA, New Century, KS. “Logically, there is very little reason to fortify foods provided that everyone has a balanced diet with proper exercise and exposure to sunlight (to make vitamin D). Unfortunately, very few people in this country have this kind of idealized lifestyle, especially within the lower socio-economic scales. People often cannot afford this kind of lifestyle, or they are not properly educated and so they make poor food choices. Fortification can help in these cases."
Fortification can definitely help fill nutrition gaps, but some authorities believe that food companies view the “right to fortify" as a way to make processed foods more attractive, to the point where a consumer would choose vitamin-C fortified applesauce over a real apple.
Marion Nestle, professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, New York University, New York, and author of numerous nutrition books, believes the only two consumables that should be fortified are salt (with iodine) and drinking water (with fluoride).
“These are deficiencies due to geography, and fortification has made a huge public health difference," Nestle says. “Evidence for the benefits of the others is more complicated, with often times the only benefit coming to marketers who use fortification as a means of selling products."
To prevent this, FDA established the “jelly bean rule" in 1994 (Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 104, Section 20). This rule says foods low in fat, cholesterol and sodium cannot claim to be healthy unless they contain at least 10% of the RDA of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, protein, iron or fiber. Further, companies cannot fortify foods with the sole intent of making that claim.
“This basically prevents a food manufacturer from making a healthy claim for inherently low-nutrient foods," says Hopkinson. “The rule has been somewhat effective, but there are ways to go around this."
