Review of the National Wheat Flour Fortification Program in Egypt - Assessing Compliance of Mills Fortifying Flour/Baladi Bread with Folate and Iron and Estimating Consumption of Fortified Flour in Women of Reproductive Age with HIECS Data.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate outcomes of the Government of Egypt national wheat flour fortification
program, including fortification level of flour at mills and the estimation of fortified flour/baladi bread
intake using Egypt Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIECS) data to
determine the contribution of fortification to dietary intake of iron and folic acid (FA) among women
of reproductive age (WRA).
Methods: Flour samples were collected from 53 mills and analyzed for iron content using atomic
absorption spectrometry. HIECS 2010/2011 data was used to estimate average consumption of
fortified flour and iron and folic acid intake of WRA using the FAO adjustment factors for calculating
adult equivalent consumption units.
Results: 95% of the flour samples collected at the mills during the audit were fortified at optimal
levels or above. In the region with highest prevalence of deficiency, Lower Egypt, women's
estimated daily intake of fortified flour was lower as compared with other regions, but still provided
over 24% and 48% of RDA of iron and FA, respectively. In Upper Egypt, consumption of fortified
flour and intake of iron and FA was highest providing over 33% and 60% of RDA, respectively. Conclusions: The fortified flour is reaching those in need and is significantly increasing dietary
intake of iron and FA among WRA. Together with the monitoring of the fortification levels at the
mills this data allows tracking of the coverage and consumption of fortified foods in Egypt. An
adaptation of the HIECS data collection tool could further improve the estimate of fortified food
intake.
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Jungjohann Svenja, Hafiz Alia, Shehata Magdy. Review of the National Wheat Flour Fortification Program in Egypt - Assessing Compliance of Mills Fortifying Flour/Baladi Bread with Folate and Iron and Estimating Consumption of Fortified Flour in Women of Reproductive Age with HIECS Data. European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety. 2015 Special issue; 5(5): 788-789.