Refined grains are often highlighted as a food that is over-consumed by Americans, with recommendations to limit or reduce intake in healthy dietary patterns. However, enriched and fortified refined grain food products, including bagels, tortillas, rolls, and bread, are a key source of micronutrients in the U.S. diet.
Modeling the Contribution of Enrichment and Fortification to B Vitamin and Iron Intake in the US Population examines the impact on nutrient adequacy if enriched flour was replaced with unenriched flour in bread aisle products (i.e., bagels/English muffins, flatbread/pita, wheat flour tortillas, white rolls, and white bread).
Key Points:
- Enriched grain foods in the bread aisle currently provide meaningful amounts of B vitamins and iron, accounting for approximately one-fifth of daily folate and thiamin intake, along with noteable shares of riboflavin, niacin and iron (9-15%). If these foods were reformulated with unenriched flour, the contribution of all B vitamins and iron would fall to only 1-7% of daily intake.
- These enriched grain foods help Americans meet 20-30% of recommended intakes for key nutrients, including 24-30% of thiamin and folate needs and 12-27% of iron needs, with contributions varying by sex. Without enrichment, contributions toward recommended intakes would decline to only 2-9%.
Enrichment and fortification of refined flour have played a central role in nearly eliminating B vitamin deficiency diseases such as pellagra and beriberi, and mandatory folic acid fortification has prevented an estimated 1,300 neural tube defect-affected births each year. Yet current public discourse increasingly treats refined grains, and enrichment itself, as targets for reduction or reformulation.
This modeling analysis shows that removing enrichment from staple bread aisle products would widen existing nutrient gaps, disproportionately affecting adolescents and women of childbearing age. Public health guidance and food system discussions should continue to support enrichment and fortification as evidence-based interventions, while clearly distinguishing staple refined grain foods from indulgent ones.
