China adds value to soy sauce

Chinese nutritionists have fortified soy sauce with iron in order to combat anaemia caused by deficiency of the mineral, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

Daily use of the sauce, a frequent flavouring in Chinese cooking, with added NaFeEDTA, a new iron supplement, has proved effective in lowering the prevalence of anaemia among special groups such as students, according to researchers at the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Chen Junshi, a researcher at the centre's Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, said he would recommend the product to treat iron deficiency and anaemia in China, alongside medicines and efforts to improve diet.

"It is both an easy and inexpensive method for the general public to increase their intake of iron,"​ he said.

Eleven soy sauce manufacturers across China have obtained the permit from the Ministry of Health to produce the new type of sauce, and this number is likely to grow in the future, said the report.

Iron deficiency and anaemia are global malnutrition problems, and China is no special case, Chen said.

Incidence rates of anaemia due to iron deficiency were 12.3 per cent and 26.7 per cent among urban and rural school children respectively, with that of pregnant women going as high as 35 per cent, a national study of Chinese nutrition conducted in 2000 revealed.

Iron deficiency can affect intelligence and the physical development of children, as well as weaken an adult's immune system, Chen noted.

The report continued that if by 2010 the incidence rate of anaemia dropped by 30 per cent in China, output would increase by 107 billion yuan (€13.2bn) due to greater efficiency in production.

Chen noted that other Asian countries and some Latin American countries have already fortified flour or instant noodles with iron to boost intake of the mineral.