Miller Magazine Issue 137 May 2021

87 ARTICLE MILLER / may 2021 fication is also fully customizable, as the mix of nutrients can be tailored to include whichever vitamins and miner- als are most needed for the target consumer group and its health needs, such as energy and immunity support. Why is public and private sector collaboration vital? It has never been more important for millers, rice brand owners, private sector partners, governments, donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to work together and find long-term solutions that combat malnutrition and improve immune health globally. From large-scale public health nutrition strategies, and school feeding and workforce nutrition programs, to accessible commercial products, fortified rice can be implement- ed into the daily diets of millions of people across the world to support their immune systems, helping to keep the world’s growing population healthy. Indeed, the evi- dence for the link between rice fortification, optimal nu- trition and public health is strong; multi-micronutrient for- tified rice has been shown to reduce anemia, infections such as colds and fevers, and homocysteine (a marker of cardiovascular disease) in a range of low-income re- gions, including India and Bangladesh. , DSM has decades of experience in rice fortification, helping public and private sector allies to introduce ef- fective food fortification interventions that improve the nutritional status of populations worldwide. Alongside these programs, DSM supports the implementation of ed- ucation and behavioral change initiatives on a global and local level to raise awareness about the benefits of these solutions among communities, healthcare workers, ben- eficiaries and consumers. This makes DSM the perfect end-to-end innovation partner for developing, launching and advocating for nutritionally dense rice products that have the potential to improve immune health, quality of life and societal prosperity globally. For more information about how partnering with DSM can help you to innovate in the rice fortification market, visit www.nutritionimprovement.com. REFERENCES 1 DSM Global Health Concerns Survey 2021. 2 Food and Agriculture Organization, ‘As more go hun- gry and malnutrition persists, achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 in doubt, UN report warns’, 2020, http://www.fao . org/news/story/en/item/1297810/icode/, accessed on 8 April 2021. 3 World Health Organization, ‘Food and nutrition tips during self-quarantine’, https://www.euro.who.int/en/ health-topics/health-emergencies/ coronavirus-covid-19/ technical-guidance/food-and-nutrition-tips-during- self-quarantine, accessed on 16 June 2020. 4 DSM, ‘The role of nutrition and fortified rice to support a healthy immune system/function’, 2020. 5 J Hilger et al., ‘A systematic review of vitamin D status in populations worldwide’, Br J Nutr., vol. 111, no. 1, pg. 23-45, 2014. 6 World Health Organization, FORTIFICATION OF RICE WITH VITAMINS AND MINERALS AS A PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGY, https://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/ guidelines /rice-fortification-executive-summary.pd - f?ua=1. 7 Sight and Life, ‘Scaling Up Rice Fortification in Lat- in America and the Caribbean’, [website], 2017, https:// sightandlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Scalin- gUp-Rice-Fortification-WFP-Rice-Fortification-ENG.pdf. 8 United Nations, ‘WHO Hunger Statistics’, https://un- .org.au/2014/05/14/who-hunger-statistics/ , 2014. 9 World Food Programme, ‘A chance for every school- child, Partnering to scale up School Health and Nutrition for Human Capital’ https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/ WFP0000112102/download/, January 2020. 1 0 Ibid. 11 Global Child Nutrition Forum, ‘ARE SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS GOOD INVESTMENTS?’, https://gcnf.org/ wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Evidence-based-Support- for-School-Meal-Programs-GCNF-August-15-2017.pdf, 2017, accessed on 30 April 2021. 12 J Huo et al., ‘School Food Fortification Improves Nu- trition Status of Students from Poor Migrant’, https://www. scitechnol.com/peer-review/school-food-fortification-im- proves-nutrition-status-of-students-from-poor-migrant- vxq2.php?article_id=1906, J Food Nutr Disor, vol. 3, no. 2, 2013. 13 M Perignon et al., ‘Impact of Multi-Micronutrient For- tified Rice on Hemoglobin, Iron and Vitamin A Status of Cambodian Schoolchildren: a Double-Blind Cluster-Ran- domized Controlled Trial’, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih . gov/26751473/, Nutrients., vol. 8, no. 1, pg. 29, 2016. 14 C Nyhus Dhillon et. al, ‘The evidence for workforce nutrition programmes’, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 2019 https://www.gainhealth.org/sites/de- fault/files/publications/documents/evidence-for-work- force-nutritionprogrammes-overview-2019.pdf. 15 WHO, ‘Fortification of rice’, https://www.who.int/ele- na/titles/rice_fortification/en/, 2019. 16 Gulshan Ara, ‘Effectiveness of micronutrient-fortified rice consumption on anaemia and zinc status among vul- nerable women in Bangladesh’, PLoS One, 2019. 17 Prashanth Thankachan, ‘Multiple micronutrient-for- tified rice affects physical performance and plasma vi- tamin B-12 and homocysteine concentrations of Indian school children’, Journal of Nutrition, 2012.