When one or more nutrients are added to the food, it is known as?

Appeared in: NORCET 3 - 2022 (Shift-1)

Explanation

Food fortification is the process of adding micronutrients (essential vitamins and minerals) to food.
It is a public health strategy aimed at improving the nutritional quality of the diet for a community or population.
The goal is to reduce the prevalence of nutrient deficiencies, such as adding iodine to salt to prevent goiter or folic acid to flour to prevent neural tube defects.
This process is typically regulated by government bodies to ensure safety and effectiveness.

Option A: Food contamination refers to the presence of harmful, unwanted substances, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical residues in food. It is accidental and makes the food unsafe to eat.
Option B: Food adulteration is the practice of intentionally degrading the quality of food. This is done by either adding a cheaper, non-nutritious, or harmful substance or by removing a valuable ingredient. It is done for economic gain.
Option C: Food abstraction is not a standard term used in nutrition or food science. The word 'abstraction' means the process of removing something, which is the opposite of adding nutrients.

Visual 1: Infographic: Examples of common fortified foods like iodized salt, vitamin D-fortified milk, and iron-fortified cereals, showing the added nutrient and the health benefit.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Definitions of Food Modification Processes as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Food fortification is a cornerstone of public health nutrition, responsible for drastically reducing diseases like goiter (from iodine deficiency), pellagra (niacin), and rickets (vitamin D).
Nurses play a vital role in community health education, teaching families to choose fortified foods (e.g., iodized salt, vitamin A/D fortified milk) to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
What if? If a nutrient is naturally present in a food and more is added, it's fortification. If a nutrient is lost during processing and then added back, it's called enrichment (a type of fortification). For example, white flour is often enriched with B vitamins lost during milling.

How to Approach the Question

This is a definition-based recall question.
Analyze the stem's key action: 'one or more nutrients are added to the food'. The keyword is 'added'.
Evaluate the meaning of each option:
'Contamination' and 'adulteration' are negative terms implying harm or reduced quality.
'Abstraction' means removal, which is the opposite of the action described.
'Fortification' means to strengthen or add to, which directly matches the concept of adding nutrients for improvement.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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