Influence of storage conditions and packaging of fortified wheat flour on microbial load and stability of folate and vitamin B12.

Flour fortification with folic acid (FA) is implemented in many countries, and the fortification of flour with vitamin B12 has been planned. However, vitamins losses can occur during storage. In this study, fortified wheat flour was packaged either in paper bags or multilayer aluminum/PET bags, and stored in controlled conditions of temperature (25 °C or 40 °C) and relative humidity (65% or 85% RH) for 6 months. FA content, cyanocobalamin content, and microbial quality were regularly assessed. In flours packed in multilayer bags (non-permeable to oxygen and humidity), no significant FA and cyanocobalamin losses were observed, irrespective of temperature and RH. In flours packed in permeable paper bags, the microbial quality deteriorated in flours stored at 85% RH, FA loss reached 22-53% after 6 months at 85% RH, whereas cyanocobalamin loss reached 49-63% after 6 months at 65% RH. This shows that, depending on environmental conditions, packaging choice is of critical importance.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors state that there was no conflict of interest during this study, and that they were not directly or indirectly affiliated to any profit-making units that may result in a conflict of interest. Arnaud Laillou is a UNICEF staff member, but the opinions and statements in this article are those of the authors and may not reflect the official UNICEF policies.
(© 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)