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A new type of iron fortificant will be added to wheat flour to combat micronutrient deficiencies in Morocco. A recent study has just shown that there is still much work to be done in this area. The government Council will implement a decree which should come into force by the end of this year.
In 2016, the Moroccan government decided to change the type of iron fortificant added to wheat flour. Instead of going for elemental iron (highly affected by dietary iron inhibitor), the government will use NaFeEDTA (a more bioavailable and less affected by dietary iron inhibitor).
To help confirm its bioavailability, the same year, the government requested the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a body that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The organization was also asked to study the effect of consuming tea with fortified bread, a food habit rooted in Moroccan culture.
Wheat flour and tea
The study was disseminated on the 8th of July in Rabat to policy makers. The survey’s results revealed that NaFeEDTA is highly absorbed and that consuming tea together with fortified wheat products reduces the absorption of iron. «This will require a strong communication strategy that recommends consumption of tea either one hour before or one hour after a meal», says the organization on its website.
conducted by the Joint Research Unit for Nutrition and Food Research «Ibn Tofail University-CNESTEN» (an AFRA regional designated nutrition center) together with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ibn Tofail University, and the National Reference Centre of Neonatology and Nutrition in collaboration with the Human Nutrition Laboratory of ETH Zurich, the results of this study, will contribute to solve iron deficiency problems in Morocco.
A deficiency that leads to anemia, extreme fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and headaches.
Morocco created in 2002 a National Fortification Alliance (NFA) after the Ministry of Health published in 2000 figures, indicating that 73% of women, 18% of men and 31% of children under the age of 5 are iron deficient.
To combat the micronutrient deficiency, the administration decided to fortify wheat flour that is highly consumed by Moroccans (365g flour/day) with elemental iron. Another study conducted from 2006 to 2008 showed that iron deficiency has not reduced despite adding fortificants to wheat flour. The government's new measure aims to make up for this failure.
