Enriched flour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enriched flour is flour with nutrients added to it. According to the FDA, a pound of enriched flour must have the following quantities of nutrients to qualify: 2.9 milligrams of thiamin, 1.8 milligrams of riboflavin, 24 milligrams of niacin, 0.7 milligrams of folic acid, and 20 milligrams of iron (Note that the first four are B vitamins). Calcium may also be added at a minimum of 960 milligrams per pound.
Enriching is necessary because the processing used to make white flour destroys some of these nutrients that were originally present in the whole grain. These nutrients promote good health and help to prevent some diseases. It is because of these benefits that enriched flour is so prevalent today despite there being no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations requiring their use.
The effort to start enriching flour started during the 1940's as a means to improve the health of the British and United States' wartime populations. The decision to choose flour for enrichment was based on its commonality in those populations diets ranging from the rich to the poor. A major factor in the switch to enriched flour in the United States was the US army's restriction in 1942 that it would only purchase enriched flour.
The reason that enriched flour is "enriched" as opposed to "fortified" is because the nutrients are added for the purpose of replacing those lost in the flour processing.
[edit] See also
- Iodised salt — which might be called "Enriched salt".
