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Fortified foods contain added vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients. Micronutrients are important for proper body functions. Micronutrients are derived from your diet. Food makers add micronutrients during production, they create chemicals that have vitamins and minerals. These chemicals don’t have any noticeable difference in their tastes, textures, or smells when added to food. These nutrients are all found in other foods like meat and vegetables. Cost, allergies, dietary style, your environment, and most fortified foods are processed and packaged. Some Common fortified foods are listed below:

• Breakfast cereals
• Bread
• Eggs
• Fruit juice
• Soy milk and other milk alternatives
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Salt etcetera

Benefits of fortified foods:

They’re cost-effective. For example, fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids but may cost too much for some people to buy regularly. Mostly Eggs, milk, and other products can be fortified with omega-3 fatty acids. These products are often cost-effective and still have similar nutritional value. Fortified foods have helped to reduce rates of nutrient deficiencyrelated illnesses like rickets, marasmus, anemia , scurvy, berberi, osteomalacia, pellagra, etc. They’re even helpful in pregnancy. Pregnant women need more food than normal women as they’re feeding a growing baby. Even when you’re eating more, still you might not get enough vitamins and minerals. Fortified foods can bridge the gap. For example, folic acid is added to many fortified products. Getting enough folic acid in your diet during the time of pregnancy lowers the risk of birth defects. They even protect older adults. As you age, your body absorbs fewer vitamins and minerals. Fortified foods help to maintains healthy micronutrient levels to keep your bones strong, help in digestion, and prevent heart issues. Children are at a higher risk of nutritional deficiencies than adults. Children need enough vitamins and minerals to support their growth. Fortified foods can boost children’s nutrition, along with a balanced diet. They help with dietary needs. Some important nutrients are available only in animal products or foods that cause allergic reactions. Fortified foods make sure you get enough nutrients if you’re vegetarian or lactose-intolerant or have other dietary needs.

Limitations of fortified foods:

Fortified foods are usually heavily processed. They’re often high in sugars, fats, sodium, and other ingredients that can lead to problems like obesity. Risk of vitamin overdose. You might get too many vitamins and minerals in your diet, which can be harmful. Fortified foods should be one part of an overall healthy lifestyle. Try to get as many nutrients as possible from unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables.

Recommendation for fortified foods:

The World Health Organization recommends large-scale food fortification as a powerful evidence-informed and cost-effective intervention to fight vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including iodine deficiency disorders, anemia, and iron deficiency, among others.

Recommendations include:

• universal salt iodization
• fortification of maize flour, corn meal, wheat flour, and rice with vitamins and minerals

For children:

• micronutrient powders containing iron for point-of-use fortification of foods for infants and young children 6–23 months old or children 2–12 years

Globally, mandatory regulations are most often applied to the fortification of food with micronutrients such as iodine, iron, vitamin A and folic acid. Of these, the iodization of salt is the most widely implemented globally.

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