Global Data Visualizations

Fortification legislation status shows which countries mandate fortification of food or have fortification standards for voluntary fortification.

Mandatory fortification occurs when governments legally oblige food producers to fortify and establishes a legal mandate for regulatory authorities to monitor industry compliance to food fortification standards. When supported by appropriate regulatory monitoring to ensure compliance, mandatory legislation is more cost-effective, equitable, and sustainable than voluntary fortification. Foods that are only fortified under a voluntary basis may have low coverage, inconsistent production, and be more expensive than if fortified under mandatory legislation. However, voluntary fortification standards, which specify appropriate nutrient levels and compounds, provide guidance to food producers to fortify foods safely and effectively.

GFDx uses the following definitions to classify countries as having mandatory or voluntary food fortification:

• Yes: Country has legal or official documentation and GFDx has a copy of it.
• No: A local expert has confirmed that the country does not have such documentation.
• Unknown: A document has not been identified or a local expert has not confirmed such documentation exists.

Follow these steps to download data from the visualization as an Excel or CSV file:

• Click on the “Data” tab at the bottom of the visualization window.
• Hover over the header row of the table until an ellipses (three dots […]) appears.
• Click on “more options” and a drop-down menu will appear. Select “Export data.”
• In the new window, select the export format that best supports your needs and click the “Export” button.

• A country may have legal or official documentation for mandatory or voluntary fortification but GFDx does not have a copy. If this is the case for your country, please contact GFDx: info@fortificationdata.org.
• GFDx definition of mandatory or voluntary fortification applies to the food, not to the nutrient. For example, there is mandatory legislation for the fortification of wheat flour in Viet Nam, with iron and zinc. However, the fortification standards for wheat flour also allow the voluntary inclusion of other nutrients, e.g. vitamin A and folic acid. In this visualization, Viet Nam is considered “Yes” for mandatory fortification of wheat flour, even though not all nutrients in the fortification standards are mandatory. Where specific nutrients are listed as voluntary, please refer to the GFDx visualization “Nutrient levels in fortification standards.”
• GFDx defines a food as mandatory if any of its food types, origins, or uses must be fortified under legislation. There may be other types, origins, or uses that are not required to be fortified. For example, if vegetable oil must be fortified but olive oil is not, a country would still be classified as mandatory. These details can be found in the “Scope of mandatory fortification legislation” visualization.
• GFDx does not classify a country as having voluntary fortification if legal or official documents allow fortification of foods in general but nutrient levels and compounds have not been specified. For example, many countries may have minimum requirements for the addition of nutrients (e.g. 30% of recommended daily allowance) if any food is labeled as enriched/fortified or has a health claim such as “good source of X vitamin/mineral.” However, if this requirement is applied to a specific food, then the GFDx would classify it as “voluntary.
• GFDx does not capture where foods may be fortified by food producers without the presence of any mandatory or voluntary legislation or standards.

GFDx populates its database through a bi-annual survey, aiming to reach 196 countries. In between survey cycles, the GFDx database is updated when new information is received directly from fortification partners and/or national stakeholders. To share data for your country, please contact us at info@fortificationdata.org.

For more information about GFDx methodology and indicators: GFDx Data Dictionary.

• The source is the author, name and publication information of the country-specific document.
• Country classifications of income status and geographic region are from the World Bank and the United Nations, respectively.

WHO: Global database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action (GIFNA).

Global Fortification Data Exchange. Map: Countries with mandatory or voluntary legislation status. Accessed dd/month/yyyy. [http://www.fortificationdata.org.]