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Minerals for food and beverage fortification
Minerals are essential nutrients that need to be supplied in sufficient quantities within the food. Minerals, such as calcium or magnesium, as well as trace elements, such as zinc and iron, are important for building up and maintaining numerous bodily functions.
By fortification of foodstuffs, food supplements or pharmaceuticals with mineral compounds deficiency symptoms can be compensated or avoided, whereas the physico-chemical properties like the mineral content, the solubility in water, colour, taste, pH or particle size are the most important criteria for the choice of a suitable mineral compound.
For the application of a mineral in food, nutritional-physiological aspects like bioavailability, safety and purity are decisive.
A new EC directive harmonizes food fortification
Until now, wide-ranging legislation regulated the fortification of food within the EC. Minerals and Vitamins present as fortificants in food often did not comply with the legislation of one or a number of EC member states, which hampered the EC-wide free movement of goods in the food business. To guarantee a fully functional European Single Market, the harmonization of national laws became necessary.
The directive 2006/1925/EC has now implemented this harmonization. Within the framework of an approved list, the directive permits the use of those vitamins and minerals which occur naturally in food and are consumed as nutrients for food fortification purposes.
Many of the minerals listed in the directive have been in use for many years in individual countries of the EC. As a result of the current harmonization of national laws, many salts of the following elements are now allowed across the EC as ccc:
Calcium
Chlorine
Chromium
Copper vvv
Fluorine
Iodine
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Phosphorous
Potassium
Selenium
Sodium