The earliest studies of food iron absorption employing biosynthetically incorporated
radioisotopes were published in the 1950s. Wheat flour has been fortified with iron in
Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States since the 1940s. However, half a
century later, nutritional iron deficiency (ID) is estimated to affect 1.5–2 billion people
worldwide. The reasons for the apparently limited impact of health and nutrition policies
aimed at reducing the prevalence of ID in developing countries are complex. They include …