Sustainability and Economic Aspects of Food Fortification

Abstract

Circular economy models and sustainable production practices are some of the actions required to achieve the SustainableDevelopment Goals. Driving innovation at every stage of production to reduce waste generation should be promoted forresponsible consumption. The prevalence of anaemia is one of the concerns for achieving food security and improving nutrition.Anaemia due to iron deficiency could be mitigated mainly by food fortification. Nevertheless, iron reactivity presents sometechnological difficulties to be solved. Some challenges are associated with sensory characteristics, while other difficultiesconcerning mineral bioaccessibility can appear according to the fortified food matrix. In this chapter, a pumpkin-based iron-fortifiedfood was selected as an example to explain the fortification process. Active coating proposals for improving the product shelf-lifeand/or iron bioaccessibility will be discussed. In order to contribute to the sustainable development 12-goal, profiting from the mainby-products and currents originated in the process will also be considered. Understanding the effects of the variables of this processon the properties of the developed fortified food contributes to thinking about novel strategies for adapting to new challenges andfuture consumer trends. Avoiding or reducing waste generation should be a key characteristic when selecting the future process forproducing fortified foods.