The Mission of the Heinz Micronutrient Campaign (HMC)

The Heinz Micronutrient Campaign (HMC) is the signature Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program for the H.J. Heinz Company and its Foundation. It is a groundbreaking program that combats the global health menace of iron-deficiency anemia and vitamin and mineral malnutrition in the developing world.

The Global Health Threat of Vitamin and Mineral Malnutrition

Iron deficiency is the most widespread health problem globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2 billion people—nearly a third of the world’s population—are anemic due to lack of iron. Young children in developing countries are most at risk of vitamin and mineral malnutrition, with devastating consequences. Tragically, more than 3.5 million children under the age of five die each year due to maternal and child malnutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies also result in blindness, stunted growth, cognitive impairment, and learning disabilities.

When the Copenhagen Consensus met in the Spring of 2008, leading economists determined that eliminating micronutrient deficiencies in children offers a better rate of return than combating global warming, disease or terrorism. The “winning” solution addressed providing vitamin and mineral supplements to nearly 140 million children. The estimated cost is $60 million a year, with a return of more than $1 billion annually. 

HMC Successes and Goals

Launched in 2001, the HMC has reached over 2.6 million children in 15 developing countries with life-changing vitamin and mineral supplements, with contributions of $5 million in cash and micronutrient products from Heinz to date. The program has been recognized worldwide by numerous humanitarian organizations, including Helen Keller International with its Global Visionary Award.

The Heinz Company Foundation has committed an additional $5 million over the next five years to implement and expand programs in India, China, Indonesia, and parts of Africa. The HMC aims to reach over 10 million children at risk of vitamin and mineral malnutrition by 2010, and to secure funding to sustain programs long-term so children around the world can grow up strong and healthy.

What Are Micronutrient Packets?

Micronutrient packets contain a multivitamin and mineral powder, approved by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is added to a child’s food by a parent or caregiver. The Heinz Company Foundation has been at the forefront of testing the efficacy and effectiveness of micronutrient powders, such as Sprinkles Plus™, with many partners around the world. Heinz also developed two formulations of multivitamin and mineral powder products that are being successfully utilized in several developing countries: NurtureMate™ and Vitalita™. These formulations may be changed to meet the nutritional needs of children in various countries.

Distributed in convenient single-serve packets, a format which Heinz is almost universally known for with its world-famous ketchup, just sixty packets of Heinz micronutrient powder per year can prevent and treat anemia at a cost of $1.50. Caregivers simply mix the powder into homemade food without significantly changing its color and taste, and without affecting the food consumption practices in different countries.

How Can One Person Help?

For just $1.50 per year, we can treat a child with anemia and other vitamin and mineral deficiencies, making a positive difference for the rest of that child's lifetime. Please consider making a contribution to the Heinz Micronutrient Fund by visiting the Pittsburgh Foundation so we can continue providing critical vitamin and mineral supplements to at-risk children.

The HMC in China

The HMC has launched an ambitious program to alleviate vitamin and mineral malnutrition and anemia in Western China. In partnership with the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, the program will reach 500,000 children over the next three years in four western provinces, where malnutrition and child mortality are especially acute.

This partnership provides micronutrient supplements to children aged 6 to 36 months at risk for anemia and other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The program also promotes nutrition education for village doctors and parents regarding the scientific principles of feeding children.

To meet the nutritional needs of the Chinese people, Heinz developed NurtureMate^TM, a tasteless multivitamin and mineral powder supplement that is added to a child’s food. The formulation is heat tolerant, as Chinese children are weaned on a warm porridge called congee. Distributed in single-serve packets, NurtureMate contains vitamins and minerals commonly missing in the diets of Chinese children. Sixty packets per year can prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and treat a child with anemia, at a cost of $1.50.

Heinz was one of the first western companies invited to invest in China, and remains China’s leading provider of fortified infant cereal. The Company is growing its infant feeding business to include strained baby food, and infant and toddler milks.

Millions of Chinese mothers trust Heinz infant feeding products to provide superior nutrition for their children. Heinz is committed to reaching those who cannot access our products by providing free micronutrient assistance through the HMC.

The HMC in India

Tragically, more than 6,000 Indian children below the age of five die every day, with over half of these deaths caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Iron-deficiency anemia affects 70% of Indian children aged 6 months to five years, resulting in blindness, stunted growth, cognitive impairment and learning disabilities (UNICEF).

In India, the HMC team completed an Anemia Surveillance Project in five districts in Maharashtra State. To conduct the project, the HMC partnered with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) of India’s National Ministry of Health; the King Edward Memorial Hospital Research Center (KEMHRC); Helen Keller International (HKI); the Heinz Nutrition Foundation of India; and staff from Heinz India.

More than 17,000 children aged 6 months to 6 years were given Sprinkles Plus^TM in five Anganwadi districts (pre-school settings) within Maharashtra State. This successful effectiveness project demonstrated that anemia can be reduced when Sprinkles Plus is administered in pre-school settings.

The HMC is currently working with the ICDS Commissioner in Maharashtra State on a scale-up project to reach several million at-risk children with Sprinkles Plus. The ICDS is the largest child nutrition program in the world. In Maharashtra alone, the ICDS provides daily services to almost 6.5 million children.

Heinz India also has coordinated production with suppliers for the majority of the Sprinkles™ that have been distributed worldwide, to countries such as Bolivia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Honduras, Kenya, Mongolia and Tanzania. In 2006, UNICEF designated Heinz India as one of its two official suppliers of micronutrient sachets.

The HMC in Indonesia

The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that more than 13 million Indonesian children under the age of five are malnourished, and over 60% suffer from iron deficiency anemia, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The HMC began working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia in 2003. Helen Keller International, UNICEF, and Church World Service have distributed vitamin and mineral supplements to more than 400,000 Indonesian children, making the HMC partnerships in Indonesia the most successful to date.

The first large-scale program of micronutrient powder distribution was implemented in Aceh, Indonesia, following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The post-tsunami micronutrient distribution initiative in Indonesia was the largest and most successful supplement distribution in the world. It resulted in a joint statement by the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization on the value of micronutrient supplements in emergency situations.

In addition, Heinz employees assisted in developing a new supplement formulation called Vitalita™, which was tailored to meet the nutritional needs of Indonesian children aged six months to five years. Heinz Indonesia is responsible for overseeing development of Vitalita at the production site, for quality control, and for ensuring UNICEF certification of the production facility. Vitalita is distributed by NGOs and through Indonesian government-supported health centers at no cost to the recipients.