[Survey of the present-day supply of fortified food products in Germany].

A survey and critical evaluation of the present-day supply of fortified common food products on the German market is presented concerning products, nutrients and amounts for fortification. The data were collected from the original food labels by personal informations from the manufacturers (40 asked, 68% answered) and by a local market survey in Dortmund (spring 1994). A total of 288 fortified food products (78 manufacturers) were found out of 6 different food products (78 manufacturers) were found out of 6 different food categories (manufacturers/products): beverages (26/95), sweets (24/57), cereals (5/53), milk products (7/35), powdered instant beverages (10/31), ready-to-eat meals (6/17). Sugar was added to 56% of the fortified products. A total of 10 vitamins (E, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, niacin, folate, biotin, pantothenic acid) and 7 minerals (Na, K, Cl, Ca, P, Mg, Fe) were used for fortification. The number of nutrients used for fortification in single products ranged from 1 (94 products) to 16 (3 products). The amounts used for fortification per average portion varied considerably among the different products and the different nutrients in the food categories. In a considerable number of cases, amounts for fortification of more than 100% (maximum 660%) of the recommended daily dose of a nutrient (EC-directive for nutrition labelling) have been observed. Relatively to the contribution of a portion to meet the energy requirement, the fortification of cereals and milk-products (about 30%) as well as of sweets (about 10%) could be rated as acceptable whereas the fortification of beverages (about 50-100%) was overdone. The present-day supply of fortified food is extremely heterogenous from the qualitative and quantitative point of view. Therefore, it is rather difficult for the consumer to reach an overall nutrient intake that is in accordance with the recommendations. The specific requirements of children, who are a preferred group for food advertising, are not at all considered adequately.