Fortifying Foods for Better Nutrition
Fortifying Foods for Better Nutrition
Nearly 2 billion people worldwide are deficient in at least one essential micronutrient, specifically vitamins and minerals. Women and young children are especially at risk and often do not get enough essential micronutrients from their diet alone, which can cause anemia, impaired growth and development, and weakened immunity.
Fortifying foods that families already eat with vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, iron, folic acid, zinc, and iodine, is a cost-effective and scalable approach to addressing hidden hunger. It helps prevent and reduce micronutrient deficiencies without requiring families to change their cooking practices.
Making Foods Families Already Enjoy More Nutritious
Fortifying staples people already consume—wheat and maize flour, oil, salt, rice, bouillon cubes, and in some cases, sugar—is a cost-effective, scalable way to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and improve nutrition for entire nations. Globally there is a long history of food fortification. For instance, in many places around the world, table salt is fortified with iodine and milk with vitamin D. Even breakfast cereals are often fortified with added vitamins and minerals. Food fortification is a practical and cost-effective way to improve nutrient intake without requiring major changes in current cooking practices. It simply improves the micronutrient quality of foods people already consume.
Helen Keller Intl prioritizes fortification of four main pantry staples.
Fortifying Pantry Staples
Bouillon Cubes
Wheat & Maize Flours
Cooking Oil
Decades of Partnership
Helen Keller has been at the forefront of advancing food fortification for more than two decades and is recognized globally as a leader in fortification program design, technical assistance, and evidence generation. We work hand-in-hand with governments, private sector partners, academic institutions, and other nonprofit partners to drive effective, scalable, nationally led fortification systems.
We do this by:
- Developing and updating national food fortification standards
- Increasing availability of fortified foods in local markets
- Building stronger compliance systems, holding food producers accountable
- Improving government and private-sector capacity to sustain fortification
- Advocating for evidence-based policy adoption and reform
- Tracking measurable improvements in micronutrient intake for target populations
Efforts to Accelerate Progress
While we’ve made great historic strides, there is much more to be done. Broad-scale change will require us to come together across industries, governments, and the public. To this end, we have made food fortification a central piece of our multiyear strategy: Leading Locally, Fortifying Futures. Through new partnerships with food producers, government regulators, philanthropic actors, and local communities, we will continue to fortify foods and nourish families at scale.
Science and Evidence Drive our Work
We use evidence-based approaches across our programming. Helen Keller prioritizes the dissemination of research and best practices to identify gaps in nutrition, measure impact, and inform policy and advocacy to scale cost-effective solutions. To learn more about our advocacy and research around bouillon fortification, please visit our Resources page.
Fortifying Foods Success Stories
What Gives Me Optimism in 2026
Speaking Technically: Improving Nutrition through Large-scale Food Fortification in Madagascar
Helen Keller Intl Joins Partners at Nutrition for Growth in Affirming Commitment to Combat Malnutrition