Nigeria Adopts Multiple Micronutrient-Fortified Bouillon Cube Standards to Reduce Malnutrition and Child Mortality
The Nigerian government has enacted a new industrial standard for bouillon which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients. The new standard specifies the inclusion of iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 on a voluntary basis in nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.
An international team, including researchers from the University of California, Davis, worked with the government of Africa’s most populous country to model the public health benefits of fortifying bouillon cubes, a staple in West African cooking. While fortification standards for foods like wheat flour and edible oils are in place, these foods have limited impacts on dietary quality because they are either not consumed frequently or in sufficient amounts by those most in need. Bouillon cubes, however, are a popular ingredient in West African cooking, consumed by the vast majority of households regardless of socioeconomic status or location, offering a more equitable pathway for impact. The policy change has the potential to save over 57,000 lives of children under the age of 5 in Nigeria between 2023 and 2030, the research team predicts.