Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new strategy to fortify staple foods with micronutrients such as iron and vitamin A, which could help counter nutrient deficiencies more effectively in less economically developed countries.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, showed that encapsulating key micronutrients in a tiny biocompatible polymer prevented the nutrients from being degraded during storage or cooking.

The polymer, known as bulk moulding compound (BMC), can encapsulate 11 different micronutrients including vitamins A, B2 and C, biotin, iron, niacin and zinc.

The researchers were also able to encapsulate combinations of up to four of the micronutrients together, according to the study.

Lab tests showed that the nutrients were unharmed after being boiled for two hours. They also survived the oxidizing chemicals found in fruit and vegetables.

When the particles were exposed to very acidic conditions, typical of that inside the stomach, the polymer became soluble and the micronutrients were released. These then travelled to the small intestine where they could be absorbed, the MIT researchers' testing on mice showed.

The researchers are now trying to conduct a similar study in a country where many people experience micronutrient deficiencies. They are awaiting regulatory approval to be granted by a joint committee from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.

Around 2 billion people from around the world suffer from deficiencies of key micronutrients; 2 million children die from those deficiencies every year, said the study.