forms for storage and consumption e g beverage concentrates confections and the like a preferred soluble dry powdered beverage mixture according to one illustrative non limiting embodiment of the invention comprises on a dry basis about 0 01 to about 0 2 percent ferric edta about 40 to about 70 percent citric acid about 5 to about 25 percent flavoring agent about 5 to about 30 percent stabilizer about 0 to 15 percent colorant and about 5 to about 15 percent of a vitamin mineral blend the terms u201c dry u201d or u201c powdered u201d used herein generally mean relatively free flowable materials having less than about 3 percent water content the ingredients of the inventive beverage compositions can be mixed using conventional techniques for example the dry components can be mixed with the liquid vehicle with stirring and agitation to the extent needed to dissolve the ingredients and ensure a substantially uniform dispersion of the ingredients as discussed above the iron fortified beverages of this invention include powdered beverage mixes and ready to drink rtd beverages whether prepared as rtd or reconstituted beverages the ferric edta used in fortifying in beverages according to this invention is highly bioavailable indeed it is comparable to ferrous sulfate normally considered the universal standard for iron bioavailability indeed in the presence of dietary inhibitors such as phytate or phytic acid the iron associated with ferric edta is even more available than the iron in ferrous sulfate moreover ferric edta does not result in the unpleasant organoleptic attributes normally of the u s dv for iron per.