Rajasthan has achieved the distinction of being the second state in the country after Gujarat to accomplish full voluntary fortification of edible oil. Currently, only fortified Salt is sold in Rajasthan. Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje had made the announcement in her budget speech of 2015-16 for a complete switch over to edible oil fortification to fight against vitamin A and D deficiency prevalent in the state especially among the rural population. Fortification of edible oil with vitamin A and D is considered as significant step in the fight against malnutrition.
183 edible oil mills and repackers have started selling fortified oil in the state. However, 136 mills which sell its produce outside the state have been kept outside the purview of fortification. Five mills which refine groundnut and sesame have completed their preparation for fortification. Since groundnut and sesame are seasonal crops produced during November to March (Rabi) they would start production of fortified ground nut and sesame oil from November.
Fortification:
- Fortification is the process of addition of one or more essential nutrients to a food, whether or not it is normally contained in the food, for the purpose of preventing or correcting a demonstrated deficiency of one or more nutrients in the population or specific population groups.
- Vegetable oils have been identified as vehicle for fortification of fat soluble vitamins. Here, Vitamin A & D.
