Assessment of Food Fortification Approaches: Enablers and Challenges

Explore food fortification approaches from Millers for Nutrition and lessons for engaging food processors and expanding access to fortified foods.

Lessons from Millers for Nutrition show what it takes to engage food processors, improve fortification practices, and expand access to fortified foods through market-based approaches.

Food fortification can improve nutrition at scale, but regulations alone do not guarantee that food processors will consistently meet standards or that fortified foods will reach consumers in underserved markets. Progress also depends on whether businesses have the incentives, capabilities, evidence, and partnerships needed to make fortification work.

Millers for Nutrition is a private sector-led coalition working with more than 500 food processors across eight countries in Africa and Asia. Funded by the Gates Foundation and implemented by TechnoServe, the coalition helps millers improve fortification practices while building stronger markets for nutritious foods.

This assessment examines three approaches used by Millers for Nutrition to address different market challenges: Micronutrient Fortification rankings in Nigeria and Kenya, commercial linkages that help fortified foods reach low-income consumers in Kenya, and the introduction of fortified rice into India’s voluntary retail market.

While each approach responds to a different context, the assessment identifies four factors that supported implementation: strong stakeholder relationships, business cases grounded in evidence, targeted technical assistance, and credible recognition of millers’ performance. It also considers the resources and sustained engagement required to maintain these approaches and expand them to new markets.

Designed for food-fortification practitioners, development organizations, governments, and industry partners, this resource offers practical lessons for programs seeking to strengthen private-sector participation in large-scale food fortification.