Food fortification refers to the addition of nutrients to processed foods at levels above the natural state, whether it is normally contained in the food, for the purpose of preventing or correcting a demonstrated deficiency of one or more nutrients in the population or specific population groups. Micronutrient malnutrition on the other hand is a disorder resulting from deficiencies in vitamin A, iron, iodine, and other micronutrients that the body needs in minute quantities every day. Hence, Republic Act (RA) 8976, also known as Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000 provided the policy a mandatory fortification of staple foods and voluntary fortification of processed foods or food products. Foods that are mandated to be fortified are (1) Rice with iron, (2) Wheat Flour with Vit. A and Iron, (3) Refined sugar with Vit. A (4) cooking oil with Vit. A (5) salt with iodine. Moreover, the DOH defines the objectives of the RA 8976 as the “Micronutrient Malnutrition Program”, it specifies the food fortification strategies.

Along with the celebration of the National Food Fortification Day, the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force (RBATF) XII organized a Regional Dialogue on Food Fortification and Salt Iodization program with the theme “Mga kakulangan ating punan, Food Fortification Program tutukan!” last November 9, 2021 in blended platform. The said activity drew active participation from the 61 attendees (face-to-face and virtual) from Local Nutrition Focal Points (LNFP), RBATF members, local bakery owners, private companies, and some food producers. The activity was held in Green State Suites, Koronadal City and was broadcast through Zoom videoconference.

The regional dialogue was packed with topics along: Status update on Micronutrient Deficiencies in the region, Overview of Food Fortification and Salt Iodization Program, Presentation of Enhanced Nutri-bun Technology, Sharing of Best Practice on Nutripan Project and Healthy Lifestyle Amidst Pandemic. The activity aims to raise public awareness about micronutrient deficiencies as a public health concern that has a negative impact on individuals’, communities’, and country’s that affects both physical and mental health. It also served as an avenue to discuss the importance of food fortification to health and nutrition.

Micronutrient Deficiency continues to be a public health concern, thus the National Nutrition Council (NNC) XII encourages food establishment owners to utilize fortified staple foods and to explore possibilities of adopting the technology from Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) and for everyone to continue patronizing enriched food products in order to reduce prevalence and ultimately eliminate Micronutrient Malnutrition.