India’s Food Standards Agency to Push for Mandatory Fortification of Staple Foods

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) continuous push for mandatory fortification of staple foods has been criticised by several edible oil companies claiming that it may be difficult to implement in their industry because of potential costs and the practicality of mandatory edible oil fortification. Though not yet mandatory, direct pressure from the FSSAI as well as indirect pressure, market leaders who have begun fortifying their edible oil products have led some firms to express their concerns.  

Umesh Varma, P Mark Mustards Oil’s deputy GM of marketing and communications, said the company, like many large manufacturers, had already begun producing fortified versions of its edible oils.  However, he added that 100% fortification would be nigh on impossible, or at least, would take a long time to implement.  Smaller companies that lack the necessary funds for the equipment required to produce fortified edible oils, in particular, are worried about their future. 

Meanwhile, BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India said the association does not support mandatory fortification.  With over 90% of edible oils in the country used for cooking, there may be no point to mandatory fortification since the bioavailability of the added vitamins and minerals in the oil would likely be much lower or even non-existent after cooking.   In addition, SEA said a large percentage of Indians use raw edible oil such as coconut, groundnut and sesame oils.  As such most of the natural nutrients are already available in the oils’ raw form thus there is no point adding vitamins in this category.