Innovative Ingredient Technologies: Enhancing Iron Absorption

Countering the action of inhibitors to iron absorption that are naturally present in cereal staples may be critical to the success of iron fortification initiatives. With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, SUSTAIN recently launched an effort to identify innovative ingredient technologies to increase the bioavailability of intrinsic and fortificant iron in foods. Such technologies include direct absorption enhancers and ingredients that buffer or counter the action of absorption inhibitors in cereal based foods.

To identify ingredients of interest, SUSTAIN conducted an extensive literature review and sought input and advice from nutrition and industry experts. In addition to scientific issues of how various ingredient technologies affect iron absorption from widely consumed foods, we wanted to address issues of particular concern to industry, including cost, the effect of ingredients on food taste and appearance, their potential for commercialization and intellectual property rights.

All of these issues were on the table at SUSTAIN's "Iron Enhancers Workshop" held in March, 2003 in Washington, DC. Bringing together specialists from industry, the science/nutrition community and government, the workshop represented the first comprehensive effort to evaluate the potential use of ingredient technologies to address iron deficiency. The workshop culminated in consensus statements about each technology's promise and limitations-a basis from which to continue pursuit of this innovative strategy for combating iron deficiency.

Workshop summaries, consensus points and key participant papers will be published in a scientific journal in 2004.