Fortification of foods (Australia)
Where there is express permission in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, a food is
permitted to be fortified with a range of nutritive substances, including vitamins, minerals, and amino
acids. A “nutritive substance” is defined as a substance which is refined, concentrated or synthesised
for a nutritional purpose. The addition of traditional food ingredients however is not “fortification”. For
example, a food may contain orange juice which would contribute to the vitamin C content, but it is
fortified if isolated vitamin c has been added in the recipe.
In most cases, there will be a prescribed maximum limit on the amount of an isolated nutritive substance
that can be added to food, as well as a maximum limit on the amount that can be declared on the
product label and on off-label advertising. In some cases, the minimum compositional requirements for
that food will expressly include mandatory fortification (e.g. infant formula) but in other cases,
fortification is optional (e.g. energy drinks, pasta, sports foods).