Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh
Although mandatory fortification of oil with vitamin A is efficacious, its effectiveness can be compromised by suboptimal compliance to standards. In this study, we assessed (1) the availability of oil brands across the eight divisions of Bangladesh, (2) fortification quality (the extent to which vi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/3/794 |
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| author | Svenja M. Jungjohann Gulshan Ara Catia Pedro Valerie M. Friesen Mansura Khanam Tahmeed Ahmed Lynnette M. Neufeld Mduduzi N. N. Mbuya |
| author_facet | Svenja M. Jungjohann Gulshan Ara Catia Pedro Valerie M. Friesen Mansura Khanam Tahmeed Ahmed Lynnette M. Neufeld Mduduzi N. N. Mbuya |
| author_sort | Svenja M. Jungjohann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although mandatory fortification of oil with vitamin A is efficacious, its effectiveness can be compromised by suboptimal compliance to standards. In this study, we assessed (1) the availability of oil brands across the eight divisions of Bangladesh, (2) fortification quality (the extent to which vitamin A content is aligned with fortification standards) of oil brands and producers and (3) the market volume represented by available edible oil types. We visited different retail outlets in rural and urban market hubs to ascertain available oil brands and bulk oil types and collected samples. We used high-performance liquid chromatography to quantify average vitamin A content and compared them to the national oil fortification standards. Among the 66 packaged brands analyzed, 26 (39%) were not fortified, and 40 (61%) were fortified, with 28 (42%) fortified above the standard vitamin A minimum. Among the 41 bulk oil type composites analyzed, 24 (59%) were not fortified, and 17 (41%) were fortified, with 14 (34%) fortified below and 3 (7%) fortified above the standard minimum. Vitamin A fortification is high for packaged and branded edible oil but low for oil sold in unbranded, loose form. As bulk oil makes up a large proportion of the oil market volume, this means the majority of the oil volume available to the population is either not (25%) or fortified below the standard requirement (39%). Regulatory inspections of producers selling bulk oil should be prioritized to support and incentivize the industry to make all oil traceable and fortified to standard. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:13:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6aeb3e09a52440e680407dcc0c9ef860 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:13:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-6aeb3e09a52440e680407dcc0c9ef8602023-12-03T11:55:50ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432021-02-0113379410.3390/nu13030794Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in BangladeshSvenja M. Jungjohann0Gulshan Ara1Catia Pedro2Valerie M. Friesen3Mansura Khanam4Tahmeed Ahmed5Lynnette M. Neufeld6Mduduzi N. N. Mbuya7Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, BangladeshGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, BangladeshGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandAlthough mandatory fortification of oil with vitamin A is efficacious, its effectiveness can be compromised by suboptimal compliance to standards. In this study, we assessed (1) the availability of oil brands across the eight divisions of Bangladesh, (2) fortification quality (the extent to which vitamin A content is aligned with fortification standards) of oil brands and producers and (3) the market volume represented by available edible oil types. We visited different retail outlets in rural and urban market hubs to ascertain available oil brands and bulk oil types and collected samples. We used high-performance liquid chromatography to quantify average vitamin A content and compared them to the national oil fortification standards. Among the 66 packaged brands analyzed, 26 (39%) were not fortified, and 40 (61%) were fortified, with 28 (42%) fortified above the standard vitamin A minimum. Among the 41 bulk oil type composites analyzed, 24 (59%) were not fortified, and 17 (41%) were fortified, with 14 (34%) fortified below and 3 (7%) fortified above the standard minimum. Vitamin A fortification is high for packaged and branded edible oil but low for oil sold in unbranded, loose form. As bulk oil makes up a large proportion of the oil market volume, this means the majority of the oil volume available to the population is either not (25%) or fortified below the standard requirement (39%). Regulatory inspections of producers selling bulk oil should be prioritized to support and incentivize the industry to make all oil traceable and fortified to standard.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/3/794food fortificationedible oil fortificationvitamin Amarket assessmentfortification qualityfortification compliance |
| spellingShingle | Svenja M. Jungjohann Gulshan Ara Catia Pedro Valerie M. Friesen Mansura Khanam Tahmeed Ahmed Lynnette M. Neufeld Mduduzi N. N. Mbuya Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh Nutrients food fortification edible oil fortification vitamin A market assessment fortification quality fortification compliance |
| title | Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh |
| title_full | Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh |
| title_short | Vitamin A Fortification Quality Is High for Packaged and Branded Edible Oil but Low for Oil Sold in Unbranded, Loose Form: Findings from a Market Assessment in Bangladesh |
| title_sort | vitamin a fortification quality is high for packaged and branded edible oil but low for oil sold in unbranded loose form findings from a market assessment in bangladesh |
| topic | food fortification edible oil fortification vitamin A market assessment fortification quality fortification compliance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/3/794 |
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