Plans to fortify food with nutrients are likely to be a key aim of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), a senior official told the First International Forum on Chinese Public Nutrition held in Beijing on July 6-7.

"About 30,000 people from the country's western region have used fortified flour for two years," said Yu Xiaodong, director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Public Nutrition and Development Center.

Fortified oil and rice have also been introduced, he added, and due to the success in improving diets the experience will be promoted throughout the country.

Yu said a new series of rules and regulations on nutrition and production standards will also come into effect.

According to a national survey, 29.3 percent of children under the age of five in impoverished rural areas suffer slow growth. "This figure means the normal labor supply might be reduced in 20 years' time," said Yu.

There are also high levels of neurological problems in newborns due to a lack of folic acid, a B-complex vitamin, in the diets of fertile women. There are 100,000 cases of such problems in China each year compared to 3,000 in the US.

At the moment there are three main routes to improve public nutrition: promoting balanced diets, fortifying food and nutritional supplementation.

Food fortification is thought to be the best method over a short period of time.

China started fortifying food in 2002, while developed countries such as the US have more than 50 years' experience.

(China Daily, China.org.cn July 11, 2005)