Food Fortification

Cover food fortification brochure
Food fortification provides a cost-effective and life-changing solution to micronutrient malnutrition by adding essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, iodine, vitamins A and B, and folic acid to everyday staples like flour, rice, oil and salt.

Why food fortification matters

Micronutrient malnutrition – often called “hidden hunger” – affects more than 2 billion people. It occurs when people are without regular access to the nutritious, diverse foods needed for a healthy diet. Fortification boosts the health and development of communities and entire economies by:

  • Tackling hunger: Boosting people’s nutrition and health, which lowers their risk of falling further into food insecurity.
  • Improving health: Reducing common micronutrient-related conditions, from anaemia and lowered immunity to neural tube defects.
  • Protecting early childhood: Ensuring mothers and young children receive the nutrients needed during the critical first 1,000 days from conception to age 2.
  • Boosting people’s and countries’ prospects: Improving health, productivity and future potential, with benefits for economies and long-term development. Every US$1 invested in fortification has an estimated $27 return in economic benefits.
Document File
Food Fortification brochure
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FAQ on Food Fortification
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Summary of evidence on the economic benefits of large-scale food fortification - 2024
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Fortification: Leveraging evidence for improving nutrition - 2022
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Harvest Plus/WFP joint brief on biofortification - 2021
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Handbook for the production of extruded fortified rice kernels - 2019
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WFP Food and Fortification Factsheet - (English) - 2018
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WFP Food and Fortification Factsheet - (Arabic) - 2018
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Rice Fortification: Supply chain and technical feasibility - (English) - 2018
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Fortification du riz : Chaîne d’approvisionnement et faisabilité technique - (French) - 2018
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Improving nutrition through rice fortification - 2018
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WFP’s role in scaling fortification

The World Food Programme (WFP) plays a pivotal role in expanding access to nutrient-rich staples. Its work focuses on three pillars:

  • Delivering to vulnerable communities: Reaching the world’s most vulnerable people. WFP procures and delivers vast quantities of fortified food – often in highly complex emergencies – with more than 6.5 million metric tons delivered since 2020. This includes its role as the world’s largest provider of school meals.
  • Strengthening national systems to ensure availability, coverage and quality: WFP supports governments in integrating fortified staples into social protection and humanitarian programmes. This drives private-sector investment and improves supply and quality. WFP also trains millers and producers, strengthens quality control and assurance, and ensures fortified foods meet national standards across regions.
  • Generating evidence: Using state-of-the-art analytics to identify needs and measure the impact of food fortification, informing government policies and programmes.

Explore case studies from regional food fortifications projects.

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