Food fortification and supplementation are methods or techniques used to improve the nutritional status of people. These techniques are used to mitigate ‘hidden hunger’ i.e. micro-nutrient deficiency in the people/beneficiaries.
Both of these techniques have their own advantages and limitations in different contexts. Let’s have a look at the major differences between food fortification and food supplementation.
Table of Contents
22 differences between ‘Food Fortification’ and ‘Food Supplementation’ are:
Food Fortification |
Food Supplementation |
“The process whereby nutrients are added to foods to maintain or improve the quality of the diet of a group, a community or a population.” WHO | Food supplementation refers to supplementing/providing concentrated sources of nutrients (i.e. mineral and vitamins) or other substances that is meant to supplement nutrients in the diet |
Fortification refers to the addition of vitamins or minerals to the foods in order to increase its nutritional quality | Supplementation refers to supplementing specific vitamins, minerals or other nutrients to the people in order to address their nutritional deficiency |
Fortified foods usually contain added vitamins, minerals or both | Supplementation usually include specific supplement at a time |
It is the addition of micro-nutrients to the food | It involves direct micro-nutrient supplementation to the targeted person |
Food fortification is targeted for large proportion of population | Supplementation is targeted for small/selective proportion of population |
Food fortification is done to prevent nutritional deficiency or improve the nutritional status of the people | Food supplementation are intended to correct nutritional deficiencies. |
Food fortification is a food-based strategy | Supplementation is non-food-based strategy |
It is done for medium to long term | It is done for short to medium term |
It is given to the population with mild or moderate risk of nutritional deficiency | It is given to the population with high risk of nutritional deficiency |
Food fortification is usually done in staple foods so that it will be regularly consumed by the people | Food supplementation does not require staple food as it is given directly to the targeted audience |
Fortification is considered as a long-term intervention measure | Supplementation is considered as a short-term intervention measure |
It is a regular and continuous process for a long period of time | Supplementation is either one-time or periodic or involves regular intake of supplements for a limited period of time |
It primarily improves the nutritional value of the food | It does not involve the process of improving nutritional value of the food as it given directly to the targeted beneficiaries. |
It does not have immediate impact on the nutritional status or functional outcome of the person | It has immediate impact on the nutritional status or functional outcome of the person |
The purpose of food fortification is to fortify the normal diet with low dose of additional nutrients | The purpose of food supplementation is to supplement the normal diet with concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances |
Fortification does not include highly concentrated form of nutrient/s | Supplementation includes highly concentrated form of nutrient/s |
Some common examples of food fortification are: iodine fortification in salt, iron fortification in wheat, Vitamin A in flour, and home fortification of complementary foods with MNPs | Some common examples of food supplementation are: vitamin A supplementation to children of 6-59 months, iron supplementation to pregnant and lactating women, zinc in management of diarrhea etc. |
The cost of fortified food is low | The cost of supplementation is relatively high |
Foods selected for fortification should be those foods which are consumed by the majority of population | Food supplementation does not necessitate consumption by majority of population |
Food fortification does not require any behavioral modification or compliance of fortified foods | Food supplementation requires behavioral modification or compliance |
Overdose of nutrients is unlikely | Higher chances of overdose of nutrients, if taken in more than recommended quantity |
Food fortification is relatively difficult process because it should ensure about the stability of added nutrients, appropriate interaction of added nutrient with the other available nutrients, no change in physical properties of the food etc. | Food fortification is relatively easy process as it does not involve mixture/interaction of nutrients. |
References and for More Information:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/faqs/faqs-fortification.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692722/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-food-fortification-and-food-enrichment
https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-value-of-foods/what-difference-enriched-fortified-foods
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/101/6/1163/4564589
https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/6/1/124/4558005
https://mmm.fi/en/food-and-agriculture/food/food-fortification-and-food-supplements
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-018-0385-3
https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guide_food_fortification_micronutrients.pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/2/223/htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9781845691448/food-fortification-and-supplementation
https://www.nature.com/articles/1601803
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/folic-acid/
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/dangers-fortified-foods-supplements-11621.html
https://www.consumerreports.org/diet-nutrition/why-fortified-foods-and-supplements-are-risky/