Intake of Foods That Could Be Fortified and of Nutrients That Could Potentially Contribute to Anemia Among Indian Women Before Fortification Implementation

OBJECTIVES: 1) To estimate intake of staple foods and condiments that could be fortified if 2018 fortification regulations released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for oil, wheat flour, rice, salt, and milk were implemented effectively under social protection programs; and 2) To estimate intake of nutrients that could potentially contribute to anemia among women of reproductive age (WRA) (15–49 y) in India, prior to fortification implementation. METHODS: We estimated WRA's mean food intake and intake of iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, thiamine, zinc, and folate by integrating single-day 24-h dietary recall from the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) Rural Survey 2009–2012 (n = 11,625) and our food composition table (FCT). This FCT was created using the 1989 and 2017 Indian FCTs, FCT for Bangladesh, and USDA's Food Data Central to estimate WRA's intake of nutrients that were not included in the original NNMB: copper, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and vitamin E. RESULTS: On a daily basis prior to fortification, WRA consumed on average 10.5 (SD 11.6) g of oil, 78.9 (SD 133.8) g of wheat flour, 227.4 (SD 158.8) g of rice, 0.4 (SD 4.6) g of salt, and 55.4 (SD 79.7) g of milk. On a daily basis, 73.1%, 45.5%, 85.5%, 12.8%, and 59.5% of WRA consumed oil, wheat flour, rice, salt and milk, respectively. Prior to fortification, WRA consumed on average 12.3 (SD 7.4) mg of iron, 190.7 (SD 473.1) mcg of vitamin A, 37.8 (SD 36.8) mg of vitamin C, 0.7 (SD 0.3), mg of riboflavin, 1.1 (SD 0.5) mg of thiamine, 7.8 (SD 3.6) mg of zinc, 235.4 (SD 419.6) mcg of folate, 1.9 (SD 0.8) mg of copper, 1.3 (SD 3.3) mcg of vitamin B12, 1.1 (SD 0.5) mg of vitamin B6, and 3.3 (SD 3.5) mg of vitamin E. CONCLUSIONS: Staple food consumption suggests that wheat flour, rice, and milk are good fortification vehicles to reach WRA. The percentage of women consuming condiments suggests oil is a good fortification vehicle for WRA. However, WRA's intake of nutrients that could potentially contribute to anemia is varied. Our food composition table provides a unique opportunity to analyze nutrients in addition to those included in the NNMB. The NNMB data can be used to model the potential nutrient contribution of fortified foods among WRA in India. FUNDING SOURCES: Global Affairs Canada.