Abstract

SAMANIEGO VAESKEN, M. L.; ALONSO-APERTE, E.  and  VARELA-MOREIRAS, G.. Folic acid fortified foods available in Spain: types of products, level of fortification and target population groups. Nutr. Hosp. [online]. 2009, vol.24, n.4, pp.459-466. ISSN 1699-5198.

Introduction: Folic acid is a potentially relevant factor in the prevention of a number of pathologies (congenital abnormalities, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and neurocognitive decline). This has led to the introduction of different strategies in order to increase folate intake: nutritional education, pharmacological supplementation and mandatory or voluntary fortification of staple foods with folic acid. In Spain there is a growing number of folic acid fortified products on a voluntary basis, but there is also a lack of reliable data to assess their impact on the population's dietary folate intakes. Objective: To gather a better knowledge of folic acid food fortification practices in Spain. Methods: A Food Composition Database was developed using data from a market study. Also, previously published data of unfortified staple foods from Food Composition Tables was reviewed. Results and discussion: The Database included 260 folic acid fortified food items and it was periodically updated. Food groups included were primarily "Cereals and derivatives" (52%) followed by "Dairy products". Most of these foodstuffs lacked a target population for their consumption (37%) or were aimed at "Weight control" (28%) and "Children" (23%), but only 2% targeted women at a reproductive age. Number of unfortified foods included was 690. Fortification levels declared by manufacturers ranged between 15 and 430% of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for folic acid per 100 g/ml, and simultaneous addition of B₆ and B₁₂ vitamins was observed in75% of the products. Currently, Spain market offers a significant number of folic acid fortified products on a voluntary basis and at a level ≥ 15% of the RDA per 100 g/ml or serving declared by manufacturers.

Keywords : Fortified foodstuffs; Folic acid; Folate; Food composition database; Fortification.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )