Reinforced Edible Oil with Vitamin A

Government through the Ministry of Health will today launch a program of cooking oil fortified with vitamin A to reduce the number of people, especially children, subclinical vitamin A deficiency.


Discussions about the fortification of cooking oil with vitamin A takes place in Jakarta on Monday (24 / 1), and is held by the Indonesian Fortification Coalition (KFI) chaired by Prof. Dr. Soekirman, to commemorate the Day of National Nutrition.


Currently in Indonesia half of children under five, or more than 9 million children, and more than 1 million women of childbearing age have vitamin A deficiency (VAD) subclinical, showing no physical symptoms. However, VAD causes susceptible to infection, such as coughs, colds, diarrhea, and measles, thus positively correlated with infant mortality.


According to Dr. Drajat Martianto from the Department of Community Nutrition IPB and KFI, a number of studies show, despite the declining prevalence, VAD is likely to increase when there is economic crisis. This is because the natural source of vitamin A, such as milk, beef, fish, and fish oil, the price is expensive. The resource consumption of provitamin A, such as vegetables and fruits, low. "The purpose of this fortification is not encouraging the consumption of lots of vitamin A, but lower vitamin A deficiency," said Drajat.


Options on cooking oil as a carrier for vitamin A through a long journey. Soekirman say, food-related culture and tastes. Cooking oils that contain provitamin A red so she'd ever tried to socialize in the 1960s, but did not succeed because it makes food color red. Several years ago, a private company failed to sell palm oil with high provitamin A. In addition to red food color, taste bitter foods as well. Fortification will not make excessive buildup in the body because the dose was carefully calculated.


According Drajat, vitamin A is stable so that the heat-resistant up to 160 degrees Celsius, such as frying and frying up to three times still leaves 60 percent of vitamin A. Weakness, the sun's ultraviolet rays can not bear so storage should be good. In addition, vitamin A is imported. However, with 3.5 million tonnes of cooking oil in domestic consumption and needs 1 kg of vitamin A per 16 tons of cooking oil, are expected to vitamin A in the domestic industry will grow.


Another weak point, 70 percent in the form of bulk cooking oil, produced many industries that are relatively difficult to control. SNI is expected to come into force next year and the POM will oversee the quality of vitamin A used. (NMP)