Food fortification and the Public Distribution System
Fortification adds micronutrients to common foods, reaching people without changing habits. The Public Distribution System protects food security, giving free or low-cost grains, now fortified, to poor families.
What fortification is
Fortification is the deliberate addition of one or more micronutrients to a commonly eaten food to improve its quality and give a public health benefit with little risk. It works because people need not change what they eat: the salt or rice simply carries the nutrient. Enrichment restores nutrients lost in processing (e.g. B vitamins added back to refined flour). Biofortification breeds crops that are naturally richer in a nutrient, such as iron-rich bajra and zinc-rich wheat developed by ICAR.
Fortified foods in India
| Food (vehicle) | Nutrients added | Why this food |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | Iodine; iodine + iron in double fortified salt (developed at NIN) | Everyone eats a little salt every day |
| Edible oil | Vitamins A and D | Fat-soluble vitamins dissolve in oil |
| Milk | Vitamins A and D | Lost when fat is removed in toned milk |
| Wheat flour (atta, maida) | Iron, folic acid, vitamin B12 | Staple in many states |
| Rice | Iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, as fortified kernels blended with ordinary rice | Staple in the south and east; supplied through PDS, ICDS and PM POSHAN |
Advantages vs limitations of fortification
PDS: milestones
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 1940s | Rationing during the Second World War and the Bengal famine grows into the PDS |
| 1992 | Revamped PDS for remote, hilly and tribal areas |
| 1997 | Targeted PDS (TPDS): different prices for families below and above the poverty line |
| 2000 | Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for the poorest of the poor |
| 2013 | National Food Security Act: legal right to subsidised grains for priority and AAY households; the eldest woman (18 or above) is head of household on the ration card; also covers maternity benefit and meals for children through ICDS and schools |
| 2020 onwards | Free extra grains during COVID-19 (PMGKAY); NFSA grains free of cost since 2023; One Nation One Ration Card lets families draw rations at any fair price shop in India |
PDS as a preventive approach
- Ensures cereal (energy) security for poor families, preventing hunger and PEM.
- Stabilises prices of essential foods in drought or inflation.
- Delivers fortified rice to the poorest, a channel for preventing anaemia.
- Some states add pulses, oil or millets; Tamil Nadu runs a near-universal PDS that also supplies pulses and oil at low prices.
- Limitations: leakages and wrong exclusion of poor families; mostly cereals, so little help for protein and micronutrient gaps; complaints about quality and weighing. Aadhaar-linked ration cards, electronic point-of-sale machines and grievance officers aim to fix these.
A community nutritionist explains the +F logo to families, checks that ration-shop rice carries the fortified kernels, and reassures mothers who pick out the slightly different-looking kernels thinking they are plastic.
2 marks: “What is food fortification? Give two examples.” Deliberately adding micronutrients to a commonly eaten food for a public health benefit, e.g. iodised salt and rice fortified with iron, folic acid and B12.
5 marks: “Discuss the role of the Public Distribution System in preventing malnutrition.” Food security; TPDS 1997, AAY 2000, NFSA 2013; fortified rice; price stability; state additions; limitations and reforms.
10 marks: “Explain food fortification and the Public Distribution System as preventive approaches to malnutrition.” Define fortification, enrichment, biofortification; vehicles table; FSSAI 2018 regulations and +F; advantages and limits; PDS history, NFSA 2013 provisions, preventive role, limitations.
Fortification's big five: salt, oil, milk, atta, rice. PDS: 1997 targeted, 2000 Antyodaya, 2013 right to food.