India has gradually mandated staple food fortification since 2019 in a bid to reduce malnutrition in the country, with rice being a key target for iron, vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 fortification.
But adulteration is common, at least because such products cost more to manufacture.
To nip those problems in the bud, the FSSAI has ordered all affected rice manufacturers to integrate the Fortified Rice Traceability App (FoRTrace) into their operations, having made it a component of the National Food Safety and Compliance System (FoSCoS).
“All brands of [fortified] edible rice grain (FRK) premixes and FRK itself will have to upload the laboratory verification reports of each batch of their production to FoSCoS, as well as the iron source statement and blending report,” said the FSSAI, “Director of the Regulatory Compliance Division, Rakesh Kumar, through an official statement.
“We recognize that there are complexities inherent in rice fortification involving multiple stakeholders and similar issues to transparency, quality, and traceability [so] we have seamlessly incorporated the ForTrace application with FoSCoS.
“This app aims to bring together stakeholders involved in rice fortification on a single platform and promote transparency in record-keeping related to production, raw materials, and sales to enable end-to-end traceability within the price chain. “
“All states and the UT government want to move forward and adopt the ForTrace portal to improve the traceability of fortified rice quality in their jurisdiction,” Kumar added.
“The local government requires food corporations in its jurisdiction to transmit knowledge about supply, production, and sales to the ForTrace portal, as well as direct the appropriate departments or governments to only acquire from corporations whose knowledge can be obtained from the portal. “
Fortified rice is available to the public through India’s public food distribution systems, in addition to other products such as fortified wheat and salt. Cereal products, baked goods, and fruit juices also have enrichment criteria, although they are not mandatory.
FSSAI is also working to adjust the number of laboratories identified and notified at the national level to verify the presence of micronutrients in fortified rice samples to ensure that defective samples can be removed from the source as soon as possible.
As of March 2024, there are 44 laboratories nationwide supplied by the presence of iron, vitamin B9 and vitamin B12 in fortified rice; 22 can do this with enriched rice grains and 10 can do it with vitamin and mineral premixes for rice fortification.
“Laboratories will have to make do with rice samples or premixes for testing if they have valid accreditation status,” the FSSAI said.
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