Nigeria to launch code of standards to fight micronutrient deficiencies

Nigeria authorities are this week launching a code of standards for adding four micronutrients - iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 - to stock cubes at levels advised by experts to achieve large-scale food fortification.

By adding essential vitamins and minerals to this universally consumed seasoning, the aim is to reduce malnutrition and improve public health.

"Fortification is important because it is the most cost-effective way of adding micronutrients that are missing in the diet for the consumer to be able to have them delivered to them through the fortified food products,” Dr. Augustine Okoruwa, Regional Director, Food Fortification, Hellen Keller International says.

"It's really very important because, as of today, we have micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria, what we call 'hidden hunger'. So one way, one strategical approach to addressing this is through adding these micronutrients to the food that they eat.”

Good health

The WHO says that micronutrients enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances that are essential for proper growth and development.

After shopping at her local market, Idowu leans over a gas cooker In her cramped, dimly lit kitchen, stirring a pot of eba, the thick, starchy West African staple made from cassava.

On the menu today: eba, and melon soup with ponmo - a less expensive condiment that is made by boiling burnt cowhide.

The 56-year-old eagerly awaits the cube to hit the market.

“The fortified bouillon cube that they have promised to release to the market, it will be a huge advantage for the poor like us who cannot afford basic proteins. We will appreciate the fortified bouillon cubes and they should try and release it to the market on time and we have been informed that it contains Folic Acid, and vitamins.”

She was forced to retire from public service due to weakening health, has had to cope with less preferred foods and limiting portion size, a common pattern among many Nigerian households.

"Those protein-rich meals, like fish, meat, are very expensive in the market and hard to find and when we eventually find them, they are too pricey for one to afford because of the cost of transporting it to the market.”

Doctors says consumption of more nutrient-rich items can improve Bello's health.

Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients.

Food fortification is not new in Nigeria.

Items such as wheat flour, edible oil, and sugar are fortified with vitamin A by law.

Fortification of bouillon with four vitamins and minerals is the most comprehensive fortification regulation to date, according to some.