Centre starts awareness drive to dispel myths about rice fortification

The government has undertaken a comprehensive awareness programme, including feeding and cooking demonstrations, across several states to dispel the myths around fortified rice, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Monday. These states include Gujarat, Manipur, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Talking to reporters, Pandey said all states have been directed to set up steering committees headed by chief secretaries to review the whole distribution process of fortified rice. They are required to make necessary changes suited to their local conditions.

On the alleged health risks associated with consumption of fortified rice, Pandey said the benefits of rice fortification far outweigh the harmful effects.

“However, a comprehensive concurrent evaluation mechanism has been put in place,” he said.

The food secretary said that the state medical department and ground functionaries are generally aware of pockets where and what kind of diseases are prevalent. And they, through the steering committee — comprising health experts and others —will constantly monitor the distribution and report any discrepancies.

S Jagannathan, joint secretary in the food ministry, said that with the scaling up of the entire ecosystem, the cost of fortification is getting reduced. Currently, it is 73 paise per kg, and in many states, it is about 50 paise per kg.

This move (of expanding the scheme of rice fortification) was necessary as malnutrition costs India at least Rs 77,000 crore annually in terms of lost productivity, illness and death.

The country loses about 1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), that is Rs 2.03 trillion, due to iron deficiency anemia, he said.

“Rupee 1 spent on nutritional interventions in India could generate Rs 34.1-38.6 in public economic returns,” he said.

Kapil Yadav, additional professor at the Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS-Delhi, said, “There are some rare risks involved, but benefits are far more. India has the highest mortality in the world due to bleeding during delivery. Rice fortification helps to offset this.”

Food fortification is implemented in 140 countries. A disclaimer of rice fortification has been put in India unlike any other country so that people are aware of what they are consuming, he said. A high dose of iron is not recommended for only thalassemia patients, who are on blood transfusion, he added.

Siddharth Waghulkar, deputy head (nutrition and school feeding unit) at United Nations World Food Programme, said the micronutrient content in fortified with rice is much higher than brown rice or parboiled rice.

Milling of rice removes the fat and micronutrient-rich bran layers to produce the commonly consumed starch white rice. Polishing further removes 75-90 per cent of Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin-E and Niacin.

“Fortification of rice provides an opportunity to add the micronutrients lost during milling and polishing. It also provides an opportunity to add other micronutrients such as Iron, Zinc, Folic Acid, Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin A,” he said.

Rice fortification is an “evidence-based” and a “cost-effective complementary strategy” to tackle anemia, he added.

Meanwhile, on the expansion plans of the programme, the food secretary said that the Centre has kick-started the phase-II distribution of fortified rice to high-burden districts. It is being done via ration shops from April 1 and so far 90 districts have been covered out of the targeted 291.

The government’s aim is to distribute fortified rice in a phased manner through central government schemes by 2024. This was announced by the Prime Minister in his address on the 75th Independence Day.

The first phase was started in October 2021. Under this, fortified rice was supplied through Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman-PM POSHAN (erstwhile Mid-Day Meal Scheme).

Fortified rice is made in accordance with the standards fixed by food regulator FSSAI. It has prescribed blending rice with three micronutrients — Iron, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12. About 9 million tonnes of fortified rice has been procured by state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI).

About 220,000 tonnes was supplied to more than 90 districts in 16 states during April-May of the current fiscal year.

On the logic behind distribution of fortified rice instead of parboiled or brown rice for addressing micronutrient deficiency, Pandey said the decision to opt for fortified rice was taken after much debate.

If the bran of rice is removed, then the grain cannot be stored for long.

He said transportation and distribution of such grain from surplus states to deficit states would have posed a big challenge. Furthermore, parboiled rice is a good option but not everyone’s food habit. Some states are improving their distribution of late, he added.