Why in the news?

• Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a scheme to distribute fortified rice under government programmes.
• Earlier the Prime Minister had announced the fortification of rice distributed under various government schemes, including the public distribution system (PDS) and midday meals in schools, by 2024.

What is rice fortification?

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.
• Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’. 
• Extrusion involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine. It is considered to be the best technology for India. The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

Why does rice have to be fortified in the first place?

• India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children. According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
• Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
• Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
• Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

What are the standards for fortification?

• Under the government’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
• According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
• Rice may also be fortified with zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, vitamin B-3 and vitamin B-6.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-is-fortified-rice-how-is-it-prepared-7860432/