Vitamin A Fortification At Cooking Oil to Help the Poor

Vitamin A Fortification At Cooking Oil to Help the Poor


Indonesia prepares for vitamin A fortification of cooking oil in bulk to increase your intake of vitamin A on the poor. Two of the 97 cooking oil factories in Indonesia have done fortification, but still limited to cooking oil packaging.

"Hopefully the year 2012 all bulk cooking oil in Indonesia already contains vitamin A," Prof Soekirman, Director of the Foundation for Development Kegizian Indonesia Food Fortification (KFI), explained that, on Wednesday (13 / 7) at the XI Congress of Nutrition Asia in Singapore.

Fortification is the enrichment process to increase levels of food nutrients. Cooking oil was chosen because the most widely consumed by the public. The addition of vitamin A will raise the price of cooking oil around USD 50 per kilogram.

Soekirman said Indonesia faces problems of chronic vitamin A deficiency. The results showed nutritionists, many children and pregnant women have low levels of vitamin A in the blood. International standards, levels of vitamin A in the blood of at least 20 international units (IU). Levels of vitamin A in Indonesia children on average 30-40 percent below normal standards.

Vitamin A deficiency can cause impaired vision and lower body resistance. In Indonesia, vitamin A intake is proven to reduce mortality by up to 25 percent of the total child mortality in Indonesia. Naturally, the requirement of vitamin A can be obtained from animal products.

Help nutrition
In Indonesia, fortification program conducted since 1994. The first fortification made is the provision of iodine in salt. Then in 2001 the government implemented a policy of fortification iron, folic acid, vitamin B1 and B2 of the flour. According to studies, poor people eat more than rice noodles. This year, KFI review the fortification of rice to the poor with the National Development Planning Agency, Bulog, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Minarto, Director of Nutrition Ministry of Health, said the government has long disseminate diet with balanced nutrition, but is constrained purchasing power is low and should be assisted with fortification.
Cooking oil fortification program conducted internationally. KFI received funding from the International Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the nonprofit organization funded by Bill Gates, the World Health Organization, and World Bank.