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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Iron Fortification of Milk and Dairy Products

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description

Blood haemoglobin level is used to define anaemia. Thresholds are given by category of age, of sex, and also of physiological status such as pregnancy. For example, the threshold is 120 g L–1 of haemoglobin in blood for a nonpregnant adult woman, 110 for a pregnant woman, 130 for a man older than 15 years, 110 for a child under 5 years… Iron deficiency constitutes the most important worldwide problem of human nutrition. In 2005, 1.62 billions of people were concerned by iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is encountered mostly in poor countries and particularly in Western Pacific, except Australia and New Zealand, in India and Pakistan, in the great majority of countries in Africa, in South America, more precisely in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. Iron deficiency is also spread in developed countries where 26–28 % of preschool children and nonpregnant women are deficient in iron [1]. The prevalence of iron deficiency is higher for women than for men and higher for children than for adults [2]. Iron deficiency comes from diverse origins but mainly related to the low availability of iron in food products. All types of supplementation and especially pharmaceutical forms—neutraceutical—give lower results than iron fortification of foodstuffs [3]. Iron fortification of foodstuffs remains the cheapest way to avoid iron deficiency and insure the daily intake over a long period. It is also better than tablet supplements that are known for causing digestive intolerance. Pregnant women consuming iron tablets have experienced morning sickness, nausea, and vomiting [4, 5]. These side effects explain partly the low observance of pharmaceutical correction against anaemia.