European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Foodfortification is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and <br> vitamins) infood. As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and <br> Agricultural Organization of the United Nations(FAO), fortification refers to "the practice <br> of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e. vitamins and <br> minerals (including trace elements) in a food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the <br> food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health", whereas <br> enrichment is defined as "synonymous with fortification and refers to the addition of <br> micronutrients to a food which are lost during processing". Foods based on fruits and <br> vegetables, such as its juices and pulp represent a new potential carrier and source of <br> probiotic microorganism. Yogurt, the best carrier of probiotics, traditionally is <br> manufactured streptococcus thermophiles and lactobacillus deldrueckii ssp. Bulgaricus (L. <br> bulgaricus) as starter cultures. Raw and fermented fruits represent an excellent vehicle for <br> probiotics due to their natural structure that allows the easy availability of usual nutrients <br> for microbial growth. Majority 70% of people in India do not consume enough <br> micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in day to day life. Due to the high <br> consumption rate of dairy products such as probiotic yogurt, fortification of these products <br> will effectively reduce or prevent diseases associated with nutritional deficiencies. The aim <br> of this investigation is to study the technical aspects involved in production of different <br> types of fortified yogurts, firstly, fortification is defined and the main reasons behind <br> carrying out this process are presented and then yogurt production process and a variety of <br> minerals, vitamins, and functional ingredients which are used in the process are briefly