In Asia, rice is a staple food and is often consumed as refined rice, which contains fewer essential micronutrients and may contribute to non-communicable diseases. These health consequences may be linked to certain limitations in rice consumption patterns¹.

To address this, researchers and governments are increasingly focusing on fortified rice — rice enriched with essential vitamins and minerals through food fortification. This process involves adding key micronutrients to staple foods to prevent deficiencies, while enrichment refers to restoring nutrients lost during processing to increase their overall content².

For a long time, the enrichment of staple foods has been recognised as a successful approach to reducing nutritional deficiencies. Fortifying staple foods does not alter the typical eating habits of the community, ensuring that people continue to consume the fortified products¹.

As a policy measure to address deficiencies in key micronutrients such as iodine, iron, and vitamin A, food fortification has been implemented in industrialised nations since the 1920s. More recently, similar initiatives across East, Central, and South Africa, as well as Southeast Asia, have demonstrated significant public health benefits through improved nutrient intake³.

Requirements Fortified Rice Across Asia

Rice fortification programmes have been implemented in several Asian countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, China, and India. In India, the introduction of iron-fortified rice through the Public Distribution System has shown high acceptability and