Fortifying food with vitamins and minerals
Fortifying food with vitamins and minerals is a major area of work for Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Vitamins and minerals can only be added to food if permissions exist in our food regulations.
The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (Food Ministers) have agreed that food manufacturers can add vitamins and minerals to food where there is evidence of a potential health benefit and fortification will not result in harm. This is outlined in the Policy Guideline ‘Fortification of Food with Vitamins and Minerals’, available from the Food Regulation Secretariat Website
Is there a difference between mandatory fortification and voluntary fortification of foods?
Yes. Mandatory fortification of food is where food manufacturers are required to add a vitamin or mineral. These are added in response to a significant public health need, for example, manufacturers are required to add vitamin D to margarine and thiamin to flour for making bread in Australia.
Voluntary fortification allows food manufacturers to choose what vitamins and minerals they want to add to food, providing they are permitted in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code). For example many breakfast cereals are fortified with a range of vitamins and minerals.
Where in the Code are the regulations that allow vitamins and minerals to be added to food?
Most of the vitamin and mineral permissions can be found in Standard 1.3.2 - Vitamins and Minerals of the Code.
There are other Standards that also include requirements and permissions for the addition of vitamins and minerals to specific foods. For example, Standard 2.1.1 requires the addition of thiamin and folic acid to wheat flour for making bread (Australia only) and the replacement of salt with iodised salt in bread (New Zealand only), and Standard 2.4.2 requires the addition of vitamin D to margarines and oil spreads (Australia only). Standard 2.6.4 permits the addition of vitamins to formulated caffeinated beverages.
There are also standards in Part 2.9 of the Code that permit or require vitamins and minerals to be added to ‘Special Purpose Foods’. Examples of these types of foods include infant formulas, meal replacements and food supplements.
These standards are available on the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/thecode/foodstandardscode.cfm
Work recently completed
Mandatory fortification
Proposal P295 – Consideration of Mandatory Fortification with Folic Acid
A key priority for FSANZ in 2007 was finalising work on a Standard for the mandatory fortification of food with folic acid.
For more than ten years, Australia and New Zealand have introduced a number of initiatives to increase the folic acid intake of women who may become pregnant to reduce the risk of their children developing neural tube defects, such as spina bifida . These have included health claims on food labels, education programs, voluntary folic acid fortification of foods - such as breakfast cereals and bread - and encouraging women to take folic acid supplements. Despite these initiatives, most women of child-bearing age are still not consuming enough folic acid.
In 2004 Food Ministers asked FSANZ to consider mandatory fortification of food with folic acid to help increase folic acid intakes in women who may become pregnant to provide protection against NTDs.
In developing the mandatory folic acid fortification Standard, FSANZ comprehensively assessed the potential health benefits and risks from increasing folic acid consumption in the population. We also assessed the overall effects of mandatory fortification on consumers, industry and government enforcement agencies.
The mandatory Standard was accepted by Food Ministers in June 2007. The Standard for Australia requires the addition of folic acid to all wheat flour for making bread. New Zealand has issued a food standard under the New Zealand Food Act 1981 that requires the addition of folic acid to bread, rather than to wheat flour for making bread. All flour and bread represented as ‘organic’ is exempt from mandatory fortification.
The Standards allow industry two years to prepare for folic acid fortification and will become enforceable in September 2009.
Mandatory folic acid fortification is expected to reduce the number of NTD affected pregnancies by 14-49 (or up to 14%) each year in Australia and by 4-14 (or up to 20%) in New Zealand. However, other strategies for reducing the incidence of NTDs will continue to be important. These include continuing our existing voluntary fortification measures and encouraging women who may become pregnant to take supplements.
FSANZ is working with other government and health agencies to inform the public about mandatory folic acid fortification and the role of folic acid in reducing NTDs. We are also liaising with industry to help them implement the Standard and collaborating with government and state and territory jurisdictions to establish a compliance and enforcement framework and a national system for monitoring the effects of folic acid fortification.
Proposal P230 – Consideration of Mandatory Fortification with Iodine for New Zealand
A diet deficient in iodine is associated with a range of adverse health effects. The developing foetus, babies and young children are at greatest risk. The most damaging effect of iodine deficiency is on the developing brain, especially during pregnancy and in infancy. Mild-to- moderate iodine deficiency can result in learning difficulties and affect development of motor skills and hearing. These adverse effects of iodine deficiency in the first two to three years of life are irreversible and can be made worse by continued iodine deficiency in later childhood. In adults, prolonged iodine deficiency, even mild deficiency, increases the risk of thyroid disorders in later life.
In 2004 Food Ministers asked FSANZ to consider mandatory fortification of food with iodine to help reduce the incidence of iodine deficiency in Australia and New Zealand, especially in children. In response, FSANZ prepared Proposal P230 – Consideration of Mandatory Fortification with Iodine.
Initially, Proposal P230 was intended to address iodine deficiency in both Australia and New Zealand. However, prior to completing the Proposal FSANZ deferred its consideration of mandatory iodine fortification for Australia while Health Ministers re-evaluated the evidence on the prevalence and severity of iodine deficiency in Australia. In the interim, in recognition of the magnitude and severity of iodine deficiency in New Zealand, we developed Proposal P230 as a separate Standard for New Zealand.
In developing this Standard, FSANZ comprehensively assessed the potential health benefits and risks of increasing iodine intakes within the population. We also assessed the overall impact of mandatory fortification on consumers, industry and government enforcement agencies.
In March 2008, Food Ministers accepted the Standard which requires the replacement of non-iodised salt with iodised salt in bread. Consistent with the mandatory folic acid fortification Standard, all bread represented as ‘organic’ will be exempt from mandatory iodine fortification. Bread is particularly suitable as the vehicle for iodised salt because New Zealanders eat it widely.
The Standard allows industry 18 months to prepare for iodine fortification and will become enforceable in September 2009, which coincides with the implementation date for mandatory folic acid fortification.
Replacing non-iodised salt with iodised salt in bread has the potential to address iodine deficiency across much of the New Zealand population, and prevent it from getting more serious in the future. We consider monitoring to be an essential component of implementing this Proposal and it will help us ensure the on-going effectiveness and safety of this strategy.
Mandatory iodine fortification Standard in New Zealand
Work under consideration
Mandatory fortification
Proposal P1003 – Consideration of Mandatory Fortification with Iodine for Australia
In March 2008, FSANZ received advice from Australian Health Ministers confirming that iodine deficiency is prevalent and severe enough to warrant intervention in Australia and that mandatory fortification is the most cost-effective strategy to redress this deficiency.
On the basis of this advice, FSANZ prepared Proposal P1003 – Mandatory Iodine Fortification for Australia. The intention of the new Proposal is to amend the existing New Zealand-only mandatory iodine fortification Standard to become a joint Standard for Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand Standard, gazetted in March 2008, requires the mandatory replacement of salt with iodised salt in bread (see Proposal P230 above).
Our cost-benefit analysis work identified that the parallel introduction of the mandatory iodine and folic acid fortification Standards will potentially provide cost-savings for industry. We are therefore developing this new Proposal as expediently as possible, with the view to generally align the implementation period for both mandatory fortification Standards in October 2009. The transition period provides sufficient time for the salt industry to increase their production of iodised salt and for bread manufacturers to make the required changes to manufacturing and labelling.
We released an Assessment Report for public consultation on 22 April 2008 and we expect to complete this work by mid-2008. Subject to any Ministerial request for review, FSANZ is anticipating gazettal of a mandatory iodine fortification Standard for Australia before the end of 2008.
Voluntary Fortification
FSANZ is considering a number of voluntary fortification applications, as outlined below:
Application A577 - Calcium in Chewing Gum Containing No More Than 0.2% Residual sugars
This Application seeks to permit the voluntary addition of calcium to chewing gum containing no more than 0.2% residual sugars.
At Draft Assessment, FSANZ’s preferred approach was to permit the addition of calcium to chewing gum for the following reasons:
- this permission has the potential to assist in addressing inadequate calcium intakes among Australian and New Zealand consumers;
- it may provide consumers with a short-term dental benefit; and
- it does not raise any safety concerns for the consumer or the general population.
FSANZ anticipates notifying Food Ministers of their decision in mid to late 2008.
Application A588 – Voluntary Addition of Fluoride to Packaged Water
This Application seeks to permit the voluntary addition of fluoride to packaged waters. FSANZ released the Initial Assessment Report for public comment in March 2008 for a six week public consultation. We anticipate releasing the Draft Assessment Report for another round of public consultation in September 2008.