Scientists in India have developed a technology for fortifying rice with iron in order to address the problem of anaemia, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday. Anaemia is rampant in the country, especially among females.
Reuters
The Department of Biotechnology and IIT Kharagpur have jointly developed the technology for extruding iron from broken rice kernels, which can then be premixed with rice. This premixed fortified product matches the normal rice grain in size and shape, and when mixed with normal rice in the ratio of 1:100, can provide fifty percent of the recommended daily allowance of iron. The same technology can also be used to fortify rice with other micro-nutrients. The incremental cost of fortification will be up to 80 paise per one kilogram of rice, according to estimates by IIT Kharagpur.
Y.S.Chowdhry, minister of state for science and technology, while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that the government was looking at ways in which to deal with nutritional deficiency in women and children. A pilot scale unit has been commissioned at IIT Kharagpur to demonstrate the technology and transfer it to prospective entrepreneurs, so that the fortification can also be commercialised. However, the authorities are keen to introduce the premix into mid day meals and the Integrated Child Development Schemes, and will set up pilot production units in states that are interested.
Iron is an important micro-nutrient which is largely deficient in the Indian diet. Iron is required for building the red blood corpuscles which transport oxygen to the body. Its deficiency causes anaemia, which in turn causes overall underdevelopment during the growing years. Iron is naturally found in foods like spinach, the husk of rice and liver. However, among malnourished populations, it is one of the first and important micro-nutrients to be deficient. The problem gets aggravated in girls with the onset of puberty.