Chapter 6: Iron fortification of milk and dairy products
Résumé
Anaemia is a worldwide health problem, mainly due to the low availability of iron in food products. The bioavailability of heme iron is far greater than the one of non-heme iron. Dairy products consumed together with iron-rich food decrease the availability of iron but the competition between calcium and iron ions is not clear. Iron is naturally present in milk under the form of lactoferrin, but lactoferrin may undergo thermal denaturation during process. Iron salts, cheaper than lactoferrin, are preferably used to fortify dairy products. The bioavailability of iron depends on the solubility and the dissociation constant of the salts. To administer iron as a medicine or through iron-enriched foodstuffs is potentially dangerous because it can induce peroxidation, which increases oxidation stress. Encapsulation and/or stable iron complex could be a good solution to protect iron against oxidation.