Seeking Optimal Means to Address Micronutrient Deficiencies in Food Supplements: A Case Study from the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project

In seeking to improve the micronutrient content of a food supplement used in a major community-based nutrition project in Bangladesh, operations research was conducted to compare the provision of needed micronutrients through additional food sources (fresh or dried fruits or vegetables), a micronutrient multi-mix, or a combination of the two. Using a standard food fortification method, micronutrient gaps were estimated for four groups of project beneficiaries. Cost-delivery and bulk constraint analysis were then utilised to compare options. In terms of these analyses, the micronutrient multi-mix proved by far to be the most advantageous. While, in addition to the multiple benefits of food per se, food options are unquestionably desirable in terms of sustainability and the value of increasing demand to boost domestic fruit and vegetable production for the population as a whole, it is clearly cost-effective to use powdered micronutrient mixes for such specific purposes as supplementary food enrichment and food fortification.