(Keep reading: Ultra-processed: they would be linked to depression and volume changes in the brain)
In the country, accessing a healthy diet per day costs around 3.07 dollars, according to FAO estimates. But, although it is a value below the world average (3.54 dollars) and regional average (3.89), it is still unaffordable for 26.49% of the population.
Fortification involves adding vitamins and minerals to widely consumed foods such as bread, pasta, and cookies to have a significant impact on the population.
Despite the panorama that portrays the food crisis in which low- and middle-income countries (including Colombia) have been submerged, nutrition specialists assure that it is possible to eat healthy without harming people’s pockets.
In this regard, the ANDI Fedemol Chamber recently held an event on wheat flour and its importance in the nutrition and well-being of Colombians. The entity highlighted the need to strengthen information on the importance of fortified wheat flour to guarantee food and nutritional security in the country and thus advance in the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) proposed by the UN 2030 Agenda.
For the specific case of Colombia, this issue is increasingly relevant. According to the report ‘Assessment of Food Security in the Country’ carried out by DANE and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), around 28% of Colombian households are moderately food insecure.
In this sense, it is key to highlight the importance of the consumption of fortified wheat flour, since it becomes an effective and economically viable strategy to improve the intake of nutrients in the population.
According to Pilar Ortiz, executive director of the ANDI Fedemol Chamber, wheat is the most important cereal in the diet of any human being. “Humanity has survived thanks to the consumption of this cereal, because of its high protein and fiber content and because it is the only cereal that can be baked. The main objective of Colombian wheat millers is to contribute to the country’s food and nutritional security,” Ortiz said.
Fortification involves adding vitamins and minerals to widely consumed foods such as bread, pasta, and cookies to have a significant impact on the population. Taking into account the importance of wheat derivatives in the nutrition of Colombians, since 1996, the National Government established the mandatory fortification of this type of food.
(It may interest you: Will food prices rise due to road closures after the tragedy in Quetame?)
Fortified wheat flour contributes to food security by providing additional essential nutrients in people’s diets. The lack of these nutrients in the diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies and a series of health problems such as iron deficiency anemia, and neural tube defects in newborns due to folic acid deficiency.
The entity has emphasized that by facilitating the availability of these nutrients in foods for mass consumption, such as bread and pasta, access to adequate nutrition for a large population is improved. This is key in communities with economic constraints and where access to a variety of foods is limited.
In Colombia, 100% wheat flour produced in the country is consumed, currently there are 40 production plants in various regions, which they produce 1.3 million tons of fortified wheat flour that become 2 million tons of bread, 229 thousand tons of cookies and 139 thousand tons of pasta. The wheat milling sector generates 120,000 jobs and is the main supplier of wheat flour —the main ingredient in bread— for the more than 25,000 neighborhood bakeries in the country.
The executive director of Fedemol added that, by eating bread, people are guaranteeing the requirements of vitamins and minerals of the B complex (vitamin B1, B2), niacin, folic acid and iron. “Taking into account the inflation that has been occurring in Colombia since the last quarter of last year, bread is not the best option for a consumer, if the price versus nutritional value ratio is taken into account,” Ortiz explained.
In the midst of the debates surrounding the consumption of wheat products and derivatives, such as gluten, it must be taken into account that science-based information is what really makes people make the right decisions when it comes to eating and, in According to food science, gluten is a protein that has high nutritional value. Additionally, foods derived from wheat are normally prepared with the baking technique, which makes them safe and easily available foods.
In case you have more questions or have suggestions on topics you would like to read about, please write to [email protected].
D. Vanessa Ortiz
