ADDED BENEFITS, HIDDEN COSTS?

MAKING FORTIFIED RICE A NATIONAL STANDARD IS A WELL-INTENTIONED MOVE, BUT EXPERTS WARN OF THE RISKS OF OVERDOSING ON MICRONUTRIENTS

- Amarnath K. Menon

ON INDIA’S 75TH INDEPENDENCE DAY, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will, by 2024, supply rice fortified with nutrients through the Public Distribution System (PDS) and food schemes targeting women and children. As a forerunner, to combat chronic anaemia and undernutrition, the Union ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution will distribute fortified rice through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme and the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) from 2021-22, with a focus on 112 aspirational districts (those with poor socio-economic indicators). For this year, the Centre has allocated 32.8 million tonnes of rice for PDS, MDMS and the ICDS Scheme, under the National Food Security Act, 2013. But providing all of it as fortified rice by 2024 appears to be a tall task.

Rice fortification is enrichment of the cereal with micronutrients—commonly iron, Vitamin B12 and folic acid—to provide a nutritional boost to undernourished and vulnerable populations on a mega-scale across geographies. According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms, a kilo of fortified rice will contain 28-42.5 mg of iron, 75-125 mcg of folic acid and 0.75-1.25 mcg of Vitamin B12 (see Super Rice).

India bears the largest burden of iron deficiency and anaemia globally, with nearly 59 per cent of children and 50 per cent of pregnant women anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4). Child and maternal malnutrition is responsible for 15 per cent of the country’s total disease burden. The NFHS-4, conducted in 2015-2016, found the prevalence of underweight, stunted and wasted children under five years of age to be 35.7, 38.4 and 21 per cent, respectively.