KHPT, GAIN lay new focus on nutrition deficiency, importance of fortification

Officials of KHPT said that food such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, vegetables are consumed in less quantity

The Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) and Global Alliance for Nutrition Promotion (GAIN), in collaboration with the Food Safety Division of Telangana, had recently organised a press meet where they discussed how the lack of various minerals and vitamins in food can lead to a serious nutrition deficiency. 

People were asked to buy food items with the ‘+F’ symbol on them, meaning that the food is fortified. Speakers at the event emphasized that people can suffer from nutritional deficiency regardless of their economic background, simply due to their food choices. 

Officials of KHPT said that food such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, vegetables, etc are consumed in less quantity, whereas wheat and rice constitute a major portion of the Indian diet.

A micronutrient deficiency can greatly affect the quality of life, they said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), deficiency of iron in children under 2 years of age can have significant and irreversible effects on their brain development.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 70 per cent of children aged 6-59 months in Telangana are anemic, and 53.2 per cent of pregnant women aged 15-49 years are anaemic.

Since money and behavioral change are required to have food from the 5 groups, the team lead of Fortification at KHPT, Gururaj Patil, suggested fortifying food is a feasible option.

K Shankar, director, office of the Commissioner of Food Safety, said food items that are fortified will be stamped with the ‘+F’ symbol.

Deputy Food Controller, T Vijay Kumar, said 4 oil brands and 7 milk brands have fortified the products currently. Soon the Food Safety and Security Authority of India (FSSAI) would make fortification of many more food products mandatory.

Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, says, “Micronutrient malnutrition, also known as “hidden hunger”, is a serious health risk. Unfortunately, those who are economically challenged do not have access to clean and nutritious food. The ones who do either do not consume a balanced diet or lack variety in the diet, resulting in nutritional deficiency.”

“Often during the processing of food, there is considerable loss of nutrients. In order to address this problem, we need fortification of food. This method will improve nutrition by diversification of diet and supplementation of food”, he adds.