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;"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">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. </span><span style="background:yellow"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and barriers of bread fortification as a public health strategy to reduce micronutrient deficiencies.</span></span><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> 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></span></div> Fortified bread, Micronutrient deficiencies, Malnutrition, Public health, Food fortification, Nutritional interventions, 173 183 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-650-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Maryam Hassani Hassani.m8434@gmail.com 100319475328460016762 0009-0008-2121-3546 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 100319475328460016763 100319475328460016763 No Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Esrafil Asgari sasgary@gmail.com 100319475328460016764 100319475328460016764 Yes Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Hossein Arabzade hos.arabzade@gmail.com 100319475328460016765 100319475328460016765 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 100319475328460016766 0009-0001-4979-6594 No Student Research Committee, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.