Effect of bovine-hemoglobin-fortified cookies on iron status of schoolchildren: a nationwide program in Chile.

The Chilean School Lunch program, which serves one million children nationwide, was supplied with three 10-g cookies fortified with 6% bovine hemoglobin concentrate, designed to provide 1 mg bioavailable iron per day. A survey of 1000 children was performed after 3 y. Significant differences in hemoglobin concentrations were found in the children from the fortified vs the nonfortified province (P<0.01). Low serum ferritin values were also significantly more prevalent in the non-fortified group. The effect was evident despite the very low prevalence of anemia in both the fortified and the unfortified school groups