Can biofortification help UK’s nutrient deficiency?

Biofortification using selective breeding is now a well-established technique to improve the nutrient quality of diets in areas of the world where severe micronutrient deficiency is widespread.

The not-for-profit HarvestPlus has pioneered work in this area and has developed more than 140 varieties of 10 different crops  – such as beans, wheat, sweet potato – biofortified with iron, zinc or vitamin A, three of the four micronutrients prioritised by the World Health Organization, the other being iodine.

These crops are already being grown in 30 countries in the developing world and tested in many more.

The British Nutrition Foundation has been working with HarvestPlus to understand the impact of these crops in developing countries and to explore the relevance in the UK, where some population groups have low intakes of these micronutrients (although frank deficiency is rare).

As part of this, a workshop in London in May provided an opportunity for researchers, the food and farming sector, government and public health experts to share knowledge and expertise, and to identify opportunities and also bottlenecks likely to be encountered along the supply chain.

The workshop considered the relevance of particular crops as nutrient sources in the context of UK public health challenges, how consumer demand might be created, how scale might be achieved quickly, and whether there is a role for food standards or incentives.

Discussions homed in on four topics: crop research, consumer awareness and education, standards, and public health research. Full proceedings of the event will be published later this year.

• Judy Buttriss is director general of the British Nutrition Foundation​