Background: Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) affect approximately two billion people worldwide across all age groups and geographical locations. The most common MNDs are vitamin A deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, and iodine deficiency disorders, which affect one-third of the world’s population. Food fortification is an important strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization to combat this public health challenge, also referred to as “hidden hunger”.

Scope and Approach: We describe the burden of micronutrient deficiencies and the current trends and regulations related to food fortification in India.

Key findings and conclusions: Prevalence of MND’s remains high in India. The Draft Food Safety and Standards (Fortification) Regulation published by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in 2016 was a major step towards expanding the practice of and increasing access to fortified foods in India. This regulation recommended fortification of widely consumed staple foods, including rice and wheat flour (Iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid), milk and edible oil (Vitamins A and D), and salt (Iron and iodine). The regulation mandated the use of the food fortification logo (+F) by food manufacturers selling fortified foods. These recommendations are being updated regularly with plans for promoting fortified food both in the open market and in existing government nutrition programmes, most critically in the public distribution systems. Integration of fortified foods into existing public food delivery models provides a cost-effective approach to combating MNDs and ensures we achieve the “Ending hunger” component of the sustainable development goals.