China Soy Sauce Fortification Project

Project Overview

In November 2003, GAIN awarded the Food Fortification Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with the National Fortification Alliance and the Chinese Condiment Association, US$ 3.00 million to fortify soy sauce with iron. In May 2010, GAIN invested an additional US$1.5 million in the project. In China, soy sauce is an ideal food vehicle for fortification as it is consumed in small consistent quantities by over 70 percent of the total population. Funding will support expansion of the number of production facilities fortifying soy sauce, the establishment of quality control and assurance monitoring systems and increased access to fortified soy sauce by rural low-income communities.

Goal

The goal of the project is to reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among women of reprodutive age by 30 percent in Zhejinag Province. The project will achieve this goal by fortifying with iron at least 20 percent of the soy sauce consumed in the province produced by national industrial manufacturers. It also aims to promote iron fortified soy sauce related policy development and create a supportive environment in China to encourage wide production, distribution and consumption of the soy sauce.

Impact

At full scale, the project aims to reach 12.9 percent of the population with iron fortified soy sauce.

Achievements

In China, data collected from 21 health clinics showed that anemia in women and children dropped by approximately one third following the fortification of soy sauce with iron. The project has also enabled the inclusion of food fortification into Chinese government policy documents on nutrition as well as the continued quality control and monitoring of fortified soy sauce samples from factories. Consumer knowledge about iron fortification has increased as well through social marketing campaigns. As of March 2010, 62.8 million people had access to the iron fortified soy sauce.

Duration

The first phase of the project ended in December 2008. A second phase of the project began in May 2010 to expand the reach of the project to the rural poor through working with small and medium-sized soy sauce producers. The project is expected to be completed in April 2013.