在发达国家,最初的理由是主要作物缺乏微量营养素,主要是由于土壤枯竭。然而,在撒哈拉以南的耕地,土壤疲劳不是主要的,社区消费大部分是土生土长的,有机,非加工作物。然而,撒哈拉以南的粮食系统与粮食不安全密切相关,疾病的司机。家庭生产可以促进生存,食品稳定性,和自给自足,SSA的主要挫折是贫困和缺乏饮食品种的恶性循环,导致营养不良。减贫和妇女教育是减少儿童和青少年营养不良的重要战略。强化个人每天食用的食物是有意义的,可以最大限度地减少,如果不完全,消除缺陷。在撒哈拉以南非洲(SSA)使用单一微量营养素对食品进行强制性大规模强化,然而,由于它们彼此之间以及与食物矩阵协同作用,因此存在争议,最佳的吸收和新陈代谢。由于营养不良的原因很多,由多样化引起的,不平等,和不公正的食物分配,与政治相关,社会,文化,或经济因素,人口的教育状况,季节和气候变化,以及营养计划的有效性,仅仅是食物强化并不能解决所有这些元素的复合。Further,强制设防是过度的,非生产性的,可能对人体健康有害,虽然在评估可用预混料的质量方面仍然存在许多挑战。此外,以饮食多样化为目标,是增加从通常可获得和容易获得的食物来源中微量元素摄入量的最佳方法。
Food fortification with micronutrients was initially justified in developed countries by a lack of availability of micronutrients in staple crops, mainly due to soil exhaustion. However, in Sub-Saharan arable lands, soil fatigue is not predominant, and communities consume mostly home-grown, organic, non-processed crops. Sub-Saharan food systems are nevertheless deeply entwined with food insecurity, driver of illnesses. Family production can promote subsistence, food stability, and self-sufficiency, the main SSA setback being the vicious cycle of poverty and the lack of dietary variety, contributing to malnutrition. Poverty reduction and women\'s education are significant strategies for reducing child and adolescent undernourishment. Fortification of foods consumed daily by individuals makes sense and can minimize, if not entirely, eliminate deficiencies. Compulsory mass fortification of foods in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with single micronutrients is, however, controversial since they work in synergy among each other and with the food matrix, for optimal absorption and metabolism. Since the causes of malnutrition are many, caused by diverse, unequal, and unjust food distribution, interrelated with political, social, cultural, or economic factors, education status of the population, season and climatic changes, and effectiveness of nutrition programs, just food fortification cannot solve the composite of all these elements. Further, compulsory fortification is excessive, unproductive, and likely harmful to human health, while many challenges remain in assessing the quality of available premixes. Furthermore, aiming at dietary diversification is the best approach of increasing trace element intake from commonly accessible and easily available food sources.