en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene Review Review Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Bread is a staple food and a major energy source for many populations, especially in developing countries. However, traditional bread often lacks essential micronutrients, contributing to widespread malnutrition. Fortified bread, enriched with key nutrients such as iron, folic acid, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, and dietary fiber, represents an effective strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies and improve public health outcomes. These nutrients support critical functions such as anemia prevention, immune health, bone integrity, and fetal development. Fortified bread is particularly beneficial for vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Despite its benefits, several challenges hinder its widespread adoption. These include sensory alterations such as changes in taste and texture, increased production costs, regulatory complexity, and limited consumer awareness or acceptance. Addressing these barriers requires coordinated efforts in food technology, education, and policy support. Overall, bread fortification presents a practical and sustainable solution to enhance nutritional status and reduce the burden of diet-related diseases globally.</span></span></span></div> Fortified bread, Micronutrient deficiencies, Malnutrition, Public health, Food fortification, Nutritional interventions, Production challenges, 0 0 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-650-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Maryam Hassani Hassani.m8434@gmail.com 100319475328460016292 100319475328460016292 No Student Research Committee, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Hassan Hassanzadazar h.hassanzadazar@gmail.com 100319475328460016293 100319475328460016293 No Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Esrafil Asgari sasgary@gmail.com 100319475328460016294 100319475328460016294 Yes Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Hossein Arabzade hos.arabzade@gmail.com 100319475328460016295 100319475328460016295 No Student Research Committee, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Nastaran Noori Nastarannoori0281@gmail.com 100319475328460016296 100319475328460016296 No Student Research Committee, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.