Enhancing the Absorption of Fortification Iron A SUSTAIN Task Force Report

The World Health Organization ranked it as the seventh most important preventable risk for disease, disability, and death in 2002 [2]. Since an important factor in its causation is the poor bioavailability of iron in the cereal-based diets of many developing countries, SUSTAIN set up a Task Force, consisting of nutritional, medical, industry, and government experts to consider strategies for enhancing the absorption of fortification iron. This paper sum-marizes the findings of this Task Force. Detailed reviews of each strategy follow this overview. Highly soluble compounds of iron like ferrous sulfate are desirable food fortificants but cannot be used in many food vehicles because of sensory issues. Thus, potentially less well-absorbed forms of iron commonly are used in food fortification. The bioavailability of iron fortificants can, however, be enhanced with innovative in-gredient technologies. Ascorbic acid, NaFeEDTA, ferrous bisglycinate, and dephytinization all enhance the ab-sorption of fortification iron, but add to the overall costs of fortification. While all strategies cannot be recom