Introduction: Fortification is defined as “the addition of one or more essential nutrients to a food, whether or not it is normally contained in the food, for the purpose of preventing or correcting a demonstrated deficiency of one or more essential nutrients in the population (Codex, 1999). One of every four people in the world suffer from micronutrient deficiency.
Aim of the study: To test whether
noodles can be used as an appropriate food vehicle for
iron fortification.
Scope of the study: Value addition of ready to eat popular foods will help to mitigate the problem of iron deficiency in the long run.
Materials and methods: Two different varieties of whole wheat flour (atta) noodles were made, out of which one was made with plain atta flour (WF1) and other with incorporation of EDTAferric monosodium salt (WF2c). Moisture, ash, acidity,
total solids in gruel, iron content and
protein content were analysed as per Bureau of Indian Standard’s procedure, along with sensory analysis.
Results: WF2c which had the highest level of
Fortification scored the best with 4.13 ± 0.38 on a five point scale for overall acceptability. The fortified
sample had a pale chocolate brown colour and this increased the appeal of the product. There was found to be gradual reduction in the taste score for both fortified and unfortified formulations on storage. No significant difference was identified in the flavour of WF1 (t0=1.6) and WF2c (t0=1.5) at 5% level. The cooked noodles which was kept for evaluation had the right texture on all days except on ‘day 20’, on which it was mushy. The scores of both the noodles were above four on a five-point scale for overall acceptability all through the storage period. The moisture content of both formulations was within the Bureau of Indian Standard’s (BIS) specification of 11g/100g. The ash content of WF1 (1.8 ± 0.2g) and WF2c (2.0 ± 0.1g) was the same all through the storage period. The protein content of WF2c noodles (11.6g) was higher than the protein content of WF1 (11.5g). No significant difference was observed in the total solids in gruel (0 days
vs 60 days) values of both WF1 (t0=0.51) and WF2c (t0=0). The unfortified sample had a total acidity of 4.0 while the fortified sample (WF2c) had a value of 4.1 against the BIS specification of 4.0ml /100g. The iron content of WF1 was 4.9mg /100g whereas WF2c had nearly five times higher iron content (23mg/100g).
Conclusion: Noodles is an ideal vehicle for iron fortification.
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