A brighter future in the fight against hidden hunger: How our new dry vitamin A form was developed to tackle malnutrition

Summary

• Vitamin A deficiency affects millions globally, contributing to hidden hunger and impeding growth and development.
• Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI offers enhanced stability, a clean-label formulation, and a more sustainable solution to address key challenges in food fortification. dsm-firmenich's innovative solution aims to reduce the global nutrient gap and support UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

Global food insecurity has surged to affect an estimated 28.9% of the population, with approximately 2.33 billion people moderately or severely food insecure. ¹ It is further estimated that 5 billion are suffering from hidden hunger, a form of malnutrition caused by micronutrient deficiencies.¹ Among the essential micronutrients often lacking in diets of those suffering from hidden hunger, vitamin A stands out for its pivotal role in supporting growth, immune function, and vision.²

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 190 million preschool children (one-third of children under five) and 19 million pregnant women in developing countries suffer from vitamin A deficiency.³ Vitamin A deficiency not only leaves populations with weakened immune systems and vulnerable to diseases, but also stands as one of the leading causes of preventable childhood blindness.⁴

Against this backdrop, we embarked on a mission to make a difference. After two and a half years of intensive research and development, dsm-firmenich has unveiled a new dry vitamin A form to fight malnutrition. Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI is a stable, clean label solution for combating widespread nutrient deficiency by fortifying flour—one of the most widely consumed staple foods globally—to provide a powerful tool in the fight against hidden hunger.

Fortifying flour to deliver nutrients through staples

Wheat flour is more than just a staple food; it's a cornerstone of global nutrition. Providing 20% of calories consumed worldwide and up to 50% in some regions, flour is an integral part of daily life for billions of people.⁴ Flour-based foods cross cultural boundaries and economic divides, encompassing morning toast in European households and chapatis in South Asia. The ubiquity of flour products makes it an ideal vehicle for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. By fortifying flour with essential nutrients like vitamin A, we can leverage existing food consumption patterns to deliver vital nutrition to those who need it most. It's a strategy that doesn't require changes in dietary habits or consumer behavior – the nutrients are delivered through foods people already eat every day.

Moreover, with 93 countries mandating wheat flour fortification, there's an established global infrastructure ready to implement new, more effective fortification solutions.⁵ Widespread acceptance of flour fortification provides a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on global nutrition relatively efficiently.

Overcoming fortification challenges

Vitamin A, the most unstable of all vitamins when it comes to processing, has posed significant hurdles in food fortification efforts. Traditional milling processes, while efficient in producing staple foods, often strip grains of their natural nutrients.

dsm-firmenich's Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI addresses these challenges head-on. Its enhanced stability ensures that the vitamin A remains potent throughout the food production and storage process, a critical factor in ensuring that fortified foods deliver their intended nutritional benefits. The clean-label formulation, free from BHA and BHT, also aligns with growing consumer demand for more natural food products.

Perhaps most importantly, the ingredient’s small particle size—with a minimum of 90% passing through a 250μm sieve—ensures effective and uniform integration into flour, meaning that every bite of fortified food can deliver a consistent dose of vitamin A to maximize its nutritional impact.

A solution for today

The launch of Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI comes at a critical time. Global food insecurity has surged in recent years due to factors such as climate change, conflicts, and the ongoing need to promote healthy growth in children and help to combat infections.⁵

In this context, innovations in food fortification provide a beacon of hope in the fight against malnutrition with short- and long-term benefits. By improving access to essential nutrients on a global scale, this new form of dry vitamin A represents a significant step towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 2—Zero Hunger—and so aligns with our ambitious mission to reduce the nutrient gap for 800 million people by 2030.

Scientific expertise, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to global health create change

The success of initiatives like Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI depends not only on their technical merits but also on their integration into comprehensive, multi-sectoral nutrition intervention strategies. Our longstanding partnership with the World Food Programme, which currently reaches 35 million people in 16 countries annually through nutritionally improved products, provides a strong foundation for the widespread implementation of this new technology.⁶

Innovations like Dry Vitamin A Palmitate NI are a testament to what can be accomplished when scientific expertise, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to global health converge. In the ongoing battle against hidden hunger, this new ingredient demonstrates tangible progress towards a world where nutritional deficiencies are a thing of the past.