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Asia
In Asia, three countries (Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines) have legislation for mandatory wheat flour fortification. Others - including China, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia - have legislation for voluntary fortification. Other countries in the region are considering mandatory or voluntary fortification.
See profiles for 23 countries in the region.
Asia Strategy
We presented a strategy to significantly accelerate flour fortification in Asia during a meeting following the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Asia District Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2011. Earlier in 2011, we made an inventory of partner activities in Asia and analysed the local/regional industry capacity, consumption patterns and the potential health impact of both wheat flour and rice fortification. The results of this were presented during the Bali meeting, and discussion points were implications for flour sales and trade, costs of fortification, interactions with governments on flour regulations and standards, equipment requirements and quality assurance. See the full meeting report.
For more information about flour fortification in Asia, contact:
Karen Codling at
karen@publicnutritionsolutions.com
or
Annoek van den Wijngaart at annoek@publicnutritionsolutions.com
Asia Regional Meeting on Regulatory Monitoring
of Salt and Flour Fortification Programmes
A workshop on 27-29 September in Manila, Philippines, addressed the common regulatory concerns of fortifying salt and flour. Participants included 72 representatives from public and private sectors in nine countries with on-going mandatory salt and flour fortification programs.
External monitoring by regulatory authorities commonly suffers from resource constraints and difficulties in establishing effective practices. Internal regulatory monitoring, especially in smaller enterprises, is often weak or even non-existent.
A major observation from the meeting was that improving and strengthening the fortification process and establishing 'process checks’ at mills and by regulatory authorities was probably the most important part of monitoring - even more important than testing the final product.
The meeting allowed countries to compare experiences and to discuss options and ways of improving internal and external monitoring. The team from Nepal is picture at left. Specific action plans to address identified weaknesses were developed by all participating country teams. FFI and other organizing agencies (UNICEF, GAIN, MI, WHO and the World Bank) will support countries to implement these plans in the coming months.
Acceptability of Fortified Asian Foods
To determine consumer acceptability of foods made with fortified wheat flour, a series of tests was conducted on 15 different kinds of noodles and breads commonly eaten in Asia. The foods were fortified with at least iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 at levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Some foods were also fortified with vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and zinc. The results, published in 2011, show that:
* fortified foods were acceptable in all cases
* several iron compounds could be used successfully in these foods
* nutrients appear to be retained throughout the food preparation process
Country Profiles & Information - updated November 2011
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For India, see the India portal.
East Asia Leaders Group Meeting participants - February 2009
FFI Meetings
Inaugural Asia-Pacific District Meeting of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM), 9-10 August 2010, Phuket, Thailand in conjunction with FFI workshop on 11 August 2010. Meeting Summary.
WHO Regional Workshop on Flour Fortification Standards, 10-12 November 2009, Manila, Philippines
Presentations Participants Photos Meeting Summary Final Report
East Asia Leaders Group Meeting, 11-12 February 2009, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Agenda and presentations Participants Newsletter story Meeting Summary
Viet Nam Country Meeting, 10 February, 2009 - Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Inception Meeting & Consultation:
Flour Fortification Initiative East Asian Leader’s Group
February 21-22, 2008 Bangkok, Thailand
First FFI Regional Flour Fortification
Workshop for East & South-East Asia
August 18-23, 2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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