Fortified rice pushed into mass market to curb anemia
KFI estimates fortification costs about Rp1.000 per kg, or an average Rp15.900 per person a year.
Fortified rice is being pushed into a wider retail market to help reduce micronutrient deficiencies in Indonesia, including anemia that remains common among pregnant women, children and adolescents. At the Millers for Nutrition forum in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/6), Indonesian Fortification Coalition Director Nina Sardjunani said rice is a suitable vehicle for nutrition intervention because more than 90 percent of the population consumes it. She said the added fortification cost is estimated at about Rp1.000 per kilogram. According to KFI, that works out to an average of Rp15.900 per person per year. Budianto Wijaya of Millers for Nutrition said the fortification technology is ready, but it needs regulatory support, quality control, distribution and the involvement of rice mills able to maintain product standards.