Selecting food vehicles

The selection of the optimal combination of food vehicle and fortificant - in the chemical form best suited to the food vehicle - is an important aspect of the design of a fortification program.

The selection of food vehicles is guided by the following principles:

• the food must be consumed by a large proportion of the population, including the vulnerable subgroups in the population, who are most likely to suffer from deficiencies;
• the food must be consumed in adequate, and relatively stable quantities on a regular basis;
• the food must be centrally processed
• the processing of the food must allow a nutrient premix to be added with low-cost technology, and in a way that assures even distribution throughout the food;
• the food must be eaten relatively soon after processing and purchase. In this way losses during storage are minimized, and potential changes in color, taste and texture due to the presence of the fortificant, is avoided.

Fortificant compounds must meet a number of criteria to be suitable for a particular food vehicle:

• the fortificant must not cause changes in colour, flavour, odour or texture. To limit cost increases, additional packaging to ensure the stability of the fortificant should be kept to a minimum.
• the fortificant must not interact with the food vehicle, or with other nutrients, particularly not in a way that would limit the bioavailability of the nutrient, or change the colour, flavour, texture, taste or odour of the food.
• cost must not make the food less affordable, particularly to subgroups in the population most in need of the additional nutrients;
• the fortificant must be well-enough absorbed from the food, so that it would actually help to improve the nutritional status of the person eating the food.

The WHO/FAO Guidelines on Food Fortification with Micronutrients provides detailed information about the characteristics of different fortificants, and makes recommendations on selecting fortificants for use in different food vehicles.

More information on premix procurement, equipment requirements and cost estimates for the key staple food vehicles flour, oils, salt, and sugar are provided in relevant sections and summarized in tabular form.