# Assessment of Several Approaches to Biofortified Products: A Literature Review
## 1 Introduction  
The main objective of agricultural innovations, whether technological, agronomic or genetic, has been to increase the final yields. Until the 1990s, limited attention was given to improving nutritional qualities. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to \"hidden hunger,\" two research terms used to indicate people around the world who suffer from vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies. Unfortunately, malnutrition is still a global health problem with many related diseases [1]. This phenomenon has a significant socio-economic impact and has contributed, together with difficult social and environmental conditions to the current situation in low- and middle-income countries [2, 3]. In 2015, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) [4] aimed to eradicate health and poverty problems, world hunger, reduce child and maternal mortality, and overcome malnutrition resulting from a scarcity of food resources [5]. Biofortification is widely regarded as a very valuable technique that increases the availability of micronutrients (vitamin A, selenium, zinc, iron and other micronutrients) absorbed by plants and transferred from them to consumers. This process, therefore, can be useful in combating malnutrition, which is a major challenge, particularly in developing countries [6, 7]. In this context, plant biotechnology applied to biofortification of staple crops has offered a powerful tool to counteract these deficiencies by providing nutritionally enhanced crops. The availability of foods enriched with beneficial substances such as antioxidants, vegetable fibers, vitamins, and minerals has increased, as consumers [8] are attracted tolabels such as \"low fat,\" \"low sugar,\" \"no hydrogenated fats,\" \"low sodium,\" in parallel with the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. All these different products have in common the fact that they provide health benefits and as such have been classified as functional food [9,10]. In recent years, the subject has become highly topical, in accordance with the new requirements expressed by an increasingly globalized market. Although there has been increasing discussion of biofortified products for some years now, there is some confusion, especially regarding the definition, which generates a lot of uncertainty for consumers and operators in the sector [11,12]. The lack of an unambiguous interpretation of the term often leads to confusion between the concept of biofortified products and other products, such as GMOs (genetically modified organisms), which they are increasingly referred to. Over the years, the various strands of research have addressed this issue, each with their own expertise, highlighting the specificities and peculiarities of these products, paving the way for further developments [13,14]. In view of the growing interest in this highly relevant research topic, it was felt necessary to carry out a literature review to shed light on what has been theorized over the last 18 years from 2003 to 2020 on biofortified products, thus assessing the state-of-the-art in the literature with the aim of understanding in which direction the various lines of re-search are moving [13]. The purpose of this document is, therefore, to draw a map of the current state of the meaning of biofortification research from the researchers' point of view. The method for the literature is described, followed by a discussion of the complexity in defining biofortified products, thus assessing the state-of-the-art in the literature with the aim of understanding in which direction the various lines of research are moving. Overall, the study of biofortified products in relation to the different disciplines of analysis currently presents many opportunities for further research. Based on the empirical evidence, a review of the literature on biofortification was conducted to understand the level of investigation [15]. The research questions are:  
**RQ1**. _How many research types were found in relation to biofortification?_  
**RQ2**.