Bahrain’s health ministry has approved a plan to introduce iron-enriched flour in the market soon, reported the Bahrian Tribune newspaper.
The plan has already been approved by the commerce ministry of Commerce, said the paper, adding that the issue of iron deficiency in Bahrain is acute and creating a lot of problems.
“The biggest dilemma is that this happens mostly among pregnant women who don’t take enough iron, thereby causing birth defects among the children,” an official at the health ministry said.
He said that “this was as much a problem in other gulf countries as it is in Bahrain.”
The ministry believes that the plan is the only sure way to ensure that the entire population have the required amount of iron in their food.
An insufficient intake of iron could lead to iron-deficiency anaemia.
“Among pregnant women, this constitutes a major health risk”, he said – Albawaba.com
