More than 250 million children worldwide suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

Supplementation and food fortification are two strategies used to provide micronutrients, including vitamin A, to malnourished people.

However, supplementation programs have recurring costs that include both the costs of supplements, as well as resources to manage an ongoing supplementation program. Fortifying foods with vitamin A has been successful in some parts of the world. For this to succeed, foods fortified with vitamin A must be widely consumed, easily available and carefully packaged to avoid degradation. Careful monitoring is needed to ensure that fortified foods provide adequate, but not excessive, levels of vitamin A.

Biofortifying staple food crops such as sweet potato or corn to be naturally rich in provitamin A (converted to vitamin A in the body) is a recent innovation that could be a long-term solution to providing malnourished people with this critical micronutrient.

A recent HarvestPlus-supported study published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Safety predicted the impact of various interventions on vitamin A storage among infants, young children, and adolescents. These simulations, based on a number of studies, demonstrated that biofortified foods were efficacious in protecting against vitamin A deficiency and reduced the risk of providing excessive amounts of vitamin that is often associated with fortified foods.

For more details, please see the attached Research Abstract 8 that summarizes the full findings of this study. Also learn more about vitamin A deficiency.