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Biofortification of food prevents diseases such as anemia and malnutrition

Biofortification of food prevents diseases such as anemia and malnutrition

It is not today that we know of the huge number of people who are hungry or suffer from malnutrition in Brazil. According to the UN's published report "State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012", about 13 million people go hungry or suffer from malnutrition in the country. And those numbers have declined compared to the past decade: while 14.9% of the population was malnourished in 1990, in the years 2010 to 2012 this percentage dropped to 6.9%.

biofortification - Photo: Getty Images

One of the most notorious works in the field is BioFORT, an organization coordinated by Empraba (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company) that is developing foods called biofortified - that is, enriched with some kind of nutrient. The main goal of the project is to ensure food safety by increasing iron, zinc and vitamin A levels in the diet of the most needy population. BioFORT has more than 150 partnerships in 11 Brazilian states, including universities, national and international research centers, producer associations, government, city halls and non-governmental organizations. Do you want to understand better how biofortification works and how it will be marketed?

Biofortified foods are transgenic?

Beans - Photo: Getty Images

No, biofortification undergoes a different process from transgenic foods. "Our process consists of crossing plants of the same species to obtain a better result, different from transgenics, in which genes from different species are crossed," says food engineer Marília Nutti, leader of the BioFORT project and researcher at Embrapa. The expert gave as an example beans: scientists cross a seedling of a type of bean that is consumed largely by the population with another type that has a greater amount of iron, and the final molt will be that of a bean with a higher content of iron . "Usually the Rioja beans we consume have about 50g of iron per pound of beans, and we can get to a bean that has 90g of iron - it's almost double the amount," says Marília Nutti. In the case of a transgenic food, the crossing occurs between beings of different natures, such as a plant and a bacterium, for example, and this crossing is done exclusively in the laboratory. "The biofortification process is also known as conventional breeding."

What foods are being biofortified?

Rice, beans, cowpea, sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, and cassava are the foods that are being biofortified in the project. According to food engineer Marília, they do not suffer any changes in the nutritional table, in addition to the enriched nutrient. See the difference:

Why iron, zinc and vitamin A?

CultivarsConventionalBiofortified
MaizeOn average, 4.5mg of vitamin A per gram of maize in baseUp to 9mg of vitamin A per gram of corn on a dry basis
Sweet potatoUp to 10mg of beta-carotene per gram of fresh rootsAverage of 115mg of beta-carotene per gram of fresh roots
WheatOn average, 30mg of iron and 30mg of zinc per kilo in whole wheatAverage above 40mg of iron and 40mg of zinc per kilo of whole wheat
CowpeaMean of iron 50mg and zinc 40mg per kilogram of productMean of iron 77mg and zinc 53mg per kilo of product
Up to 9mg of beta-carotene per gram in fresh roots.Beans
On average, 50mg of iron and 30mg of zinc per kg of beanOn average, 12mg of zinc and 2mg of iron per kilo of polished white riceAverage of 18% of iron and 50mg of zinc per kilo of cultivar. mg of zinc and 4 mg of iron per kilogram of polished white rice
One of the most malnutrition-related diseases in Brazil is iron deficiency anemia caused by iron deficiency in the body. According to BioFORT, the most important sources of iron for the Brazilian population are beans and red meats. "By enriching beans and wheat with even greater amounts of these nutrients, we can reverse a much greater number of these cases," says nutrologist Celso Cukier, coordinator of the São Luiz Hospital Study Center in São Paulo. Zinc helps strengthen the immune system and is anti-inflammatory, in addition to being a nutrient that is present in foods rich in iron, so BioFORT believes that the deficiency for it is also incident. "Vitamin A is a micro-nutrient essential for the proper functioning of the vision and immune system of the human body, and its deficiency has caused blindness in thousands of children, who are the biggest victims of malnutrition," says researcher Marília.Can any food be biofortified?Biofortified foods do not undergo any change in the nutritional table, in addition to the enriched nutrient

Not always. In order for biofortification to occur, it is necessary to perform crosses in a natural way, and for this it is necessary to have two varieties of the same food with different prominent characteristics. "For example, in a database with more than 1,000 varieties of beans, one that has a high iron content and one that has a little iron, has a higher productivity rate," says Marília Nutti. "After a sequence of crosses, we have a new way of cultivating that has both characteristics," he adds. Thus, if it is not possible to find two varieties of the same food that have the characteristics sought, it is not possible to biofortify it.

According to BioFort, not on the crops that are being worked on in the project. "They are being developed to increase micronutrients so that they reach at least 50% of the recommended daily allowance," says project leader Marília. Thus, biofortification is a complementary effort to other existing programs for micronutrient deficiency. "The biofortification process may even be repeated to a point where food is larger than recommended, but only if it is run in an uncontrolled manner."

Amounts of food to be ingested decrease?

Biofortified - Foto Getty Images

No. "As it is thought to enrich nutrition in a healthy way, the amounts of nutrients inserted are thought of in the standard portions of daily consumption," says the nutrologist Celso.

Biofortified foods can replace vitamin supplements?

Nutrologist Celso says that biofortification can help prevent diseases that are usually treated with the use of supplements, such as anemia. "However, this does not serve as the only solution for those who already have a disease installed and need the supplement."

How will they be marketed?

"The overall intention of the project is that food be widely consumed by the Brazilian population , including markets and school meals, "says Marília Nutti. Today, biofortificates are being grown and included in school lunches in northeastern states where the population is most in need. If these experiments are successful, the biofortificates will enter the shelves of the rest of Brazil. "The idea is to combine food consumption with nutritional education efforts, teaching children the importance of a balanced diet," says the researcher.The nutrologo Celso warns that there are products on the market that advertise on the packaging are enriched with vitamins such as biscuits. "This type of food industrialized with the addition of nutrients done in the laboratory presents very small quantities, which will not bring significant benefits to the diet."


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