Brazil develops 'superfoods' against malnutrition

Eight types of micronutrient supplements are being developed by Brazil to overcome human malnutrition, which causes serious illnesses.

Marilia Nutti, one of the project members, said that we are trying to increase the amount of iron, zinc, and vitamin A vitamins. These are the most deficient micronutrients in Brazil. A phenomenon that many call "hidden" famine .

Nutti explained, this is not genetic engineering. Crops are propagated normally to enhance micronutrients. We just want to create a nutritious diet. This project targets the poorest areas. It is scientifically feasible and economically effective.

Food crops in the garden Itaguaí, Brazil.(Photo: Embrapa)

The aim of the project is to combat the deficiency of micronutrients, which can lead to serious illnesses such as anemia, blindness, immunodeficiency, growth retardation, and even death. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, micronutrients affect more than 2 billion people globally.

Eight fortified foods are common foods such as rice, cowpea, cassava, sweet potatoes, corn, squash and wheat.

These 'superfoods' contain much higher levels of micronutrients than regular foods, for example, in beans, iron content is raised to 50-90mg per kilogram of food. In normal cassava almost no beta-carotene is contained, this new cassava contains 9 µg vitamins / 1 gram of food. Beta-carotene content in sweet potatoes increased from 10µg to 115µg / 1 gram of food. The zinc content of rice increased from 12mg to 18mg per kilogram of rice.

In addition to Brazil, some other countries such as Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Congo and Uganda are also conducting research to develop this food.