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CEREAL ENRICHMENT IN PERSPECTIVE, 1958 This publication follows other closely related documents published by the Food and Nutrition Board.1 It covers pertinent literature from 1950 to the present and in- cludes a brief review of the early history of enrichment. Its primary purpose is to analyze the present situation in order to foster interest in further promotion of enrichment of staple cereal foods. In this publication an effort has been made to use the terms "enriched", "en- richment", etc., only in the strict legal sense of the Food and Drug Administra- tion's standards applying solely to cereal products with specified contents of thia- mine, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. (See Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 1950 et seq.) Addition of vitamin D to milk or A to oleomargarine is not "enrichment", technically speaking, but "fortification." As the practice of such additions to foods extends to other countries, variations of formula are occurring without alteration of fundamental purpose. It is convenient to have an inclusive term to cover all such variations, and "enrichment" has sometimes been used in that broader sense, but the context will make the meaning clear. REVIEW OF EARLY HISTORY OF ENRICHMENT The Council on Foods of the American Medical Association issued a statement March 18, 19392 encouraging "the restora- tive addition of vitamins or minerals or other dietary essentials in such amounts as will raise the content of vitamins or min- erals or other dietary essentials of general purpose foods to recognized high natural levels; with the provision that such addi- tions are to be limited to vitamins or min- erals or other dietary essentials for which a wider distribution is considered by the Council to be in the interest of public health." In August, 1940 the Subcommittee on Medical Nutrition of the National Research Council issued the following statement3: "It is generally agreed that the diet of the civilian population is minimal in its provi- sion of vitamin BI, and in case of war the deleterious effect of an inadequate supply of vitamin B, is likely to manifest itself (unfavorably), especially in men doing heavy labor." Following the discovery of the structure of vitamin BI (thiamine) by Williams et al and its economic production by Merck & Co., Inc. and later by Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., many producers in the milling and baking industries became interested in im- proving the nutritional quality of their products. As early as 1939, 12,000,000 pounds of specialty bread per month was being manufactured with the addition of thiamine and vitamin B complex and non- fat dry milk, producing a very nutritious loaf. The flour hearings of 1940 and bread hearings of August 7, 1941 and April 1943 developed standards for flour and a basis for standards for bread as well. Levels of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron, vitamin D, and calcium were proposed, based on the recommendations of Dr. E. M. Nelson of the Federal Food and Drug Administra- tion and endorsed by other prominent nutri- tionists, Drs. Wilder, Sebrell, Jolliffe, and Williams, who testified at the hearings, November 14, 1940. The term "enriched" 1 Facts About Enrichment of Flour and Bread, October 1944. Enrichment of Flour and Bread. A History of the Movement. Bulletin of the National Research Council No. 110. November 1944. Supplement to the Facts About Enrichment of Flour and Bread. March 1946. Bread and Flour Enrichment 1946-47. February 1947. Outlook for Bread and Flour Enrichment. A Review of Events during 1947-48. November 1948. Flour and Bread Enrichment 1949-50. October 1950. "J. Am. Med. Assoc. 113: 681 (1939). ' Minutes of Meeting August 5, 1940.
