Fortified and functional foods: Trends, innovations, and their public health impact for future nutrient enrichment

Global malnutrition remains a critical public health challenge, necessitating innovative solutions to improve nutrient intake and health outcomes. Functional fortified foods, which incorporate essential vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds into commonly consumed foods, have emerged as a promising strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies. This review addresses the process of development, evidence base, and public health relevance of fortified foods and highlights critical challenges such as unequal access, overfortification, and nutrient interactions. Fortified foods have contributed significantly to disease prevention and health improvement over the years. At present, functional foods provide enhanced benefits in addressing a wide range of diseases. Emerging technologies like genetic biofortification, nanoencapsulation, cold plasma treatment, edible coating, and 3D food printing have improved nutrient stability, bioavailability, and delivery efficiency. This review concludes by emphasizing the importance of advancing sustainable fortification techniques and personalized nutrition approaches to effectively improve public health outcomes in the coming decades.