New Delhi, March 1 -- The Centre has decided to temporarily suspend the supply of iron-fortified rice to nationwide beneficiaries under the public distribution system and nutrition schemes, such as school mid-day meal programmes, rolling back a move that had courted controversy over possible safety and toxicity issues among certain categories of population. The food ministry will halt its cereal-fortification programme due to poor shelf-life of fortified rice and loss of micronutrients during storage of grains, an official statement said on Saturday. The decision follows a study by the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, commissioned by the Centre, which revealed degradation of nutrients in rice kernels while being stored, the statement added. Fortified rice kernels and cereals are susceptible to micronutrient reduction and shortening of shelf life during prolonged storage and routine handling, the statement said, citing the IIT study. "Considering procurement volumes and annual offtake, rice remains in storage for two to three years. In view of these findings, it has been decided to temporarily discontinue fortification of rice until a more robust and effective nutrient delivery mechanism is developed," the Centre said. In his 2021 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the Centre would distribute only fortified rice by 2024 in all food schemes to address persistent anaemia and malnutrition, especially among rural children and women. The Union Cabinet in 2022 approved a programme to provide fortified rice in all welfare schemes at an estimated cost of Rs.2,700 crore. This included the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, under which 800 million beneficiaries receive free grains under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Some experts, including a fact-finding team of prominent NGOs and nutrition experts, however, had expressed concerns that iron-fortified rice may harm adivasis or indigenous populations -- in states such as Jharkhand -- where conditions like sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia are more prevalent and populations are genetically predisposed to these diseases. The government had said rice fortified with three micronutrients - iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 - was completely safe for the general population. Such fortified food did carry mandatory label warnings as per regulations of the food standards authority for thalassemia patients, for whom iron-enriched rice isn't suitable, the Centre had said. "This is a welcome development. We have always said that either this is an expensive but very ineffective intervention, or it is unsafe and toxic. It cannot be both safe and effective," said Kavitha Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture....