Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) can increase dietary micronutrient intake and improve micronutrient status. Here we used food balance sheet data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to estimate current country-specific prevalences of inadequate zinc intake. We assessed the potential effects of improving existing LSFF programmes for cereal grains or implementing new programmes in 40 countries where zinc deficiency is a potential public health problem. Accounting for LSFF programmes as currently implemented, 15% of the global population (1.13 billion individuals) is estimated to have inadequate zinc intake. In countries where zinc deficiency is a potential public health problem, the implementation of high-quality mandatory LSFF programmes that include zinc as a fortificant would substantially increase the availability of zinc in the national food supply, reducing the estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake by up to 50% globally. Investments in strong LSFF programmes could have a substantial impact on population zinc status.

大规模食品强化（LSFF）可以增加膳食微量营养素的摄入量并改善微量营养素状况。在这里，我们使用联合国粮食及农业组织的食物平衡表数据来估计当前特定国家锌摄入不足的患病率。我们评估了在缺锌成为潜在公共卫生问题的 40 个国家中改进现有的 LSFF 谷物计划或实施新计划的潜在影响。考虑到目前实施的 LSFF 计划，全球 15% 的人口（11.3 亿人）估计锌摄入量不足。在锌缺乏成为潜在公共卫生问题的国家，实施将锌作为强化剂的高质量强制性 LSFF 计划将大大增加国家食品供应中锌的供应量，从而将锌摄入不足的估计患病率降低最多全球达到 50%。对强有力的 LSFF 项目的投资可能会对人口锌状况产生重大影响。