Towards adequate food environment in Benin public primary schools, the challenge of food supply and hygiene practices: a case study of three municipalities

Background and aim: School food environment is a component of food system which provides the opportunity to implement interventions that lead to better nutrition. This study aimed to describe two of the five components of food environment notably food supply and food safety through hygiene practices in schools inside Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi and Sèmè-Kpodji, in Benin country. Methods: Twelve schools were randomly selected from a sampling frame of all public primary schools with canteens and that have space for school gardens and closer to the market garden sites. In the selected schools, we assessed the diversity of the Food Supply using Food Group Score (FGS) and Hygiene practices using the Summary Hygiene Index (SHI). Data were mainly collected using semi-structured questionnaire administered to foods cookers/ vendors and by observation within schools. Fifteen food groups were considered to determine the FGS and 15 for SHI. Wilcoxon test was used to compare scores among urban and peri-urban areas. Results: Food supply appeared to be limited in 9 schools (FGS< 8) over the 12 with no significant difference between periurban and urban zone (p-value = 0.72). The most represented food group which was available in all schools are cereals, legumes, nuts, seeds, followed by sweet foods and drink while others groups (source of vitamin A and micronutrients) are poorly represented. It appears in all schools a low variability of food within each group. Basically, 8 schools out of 12 have a SHI lower than the median score (08) and the urban zone has a SHI (SHI = 9.5 ± 1.29) higher than peri-urban (SHI = 6.5 ± 1.18) with p-value = 0.015. Conclusions: The food supply is not very diversified in public primary schools and hygiene practices need to be improved for a healthy food environment around schools

Valorization of Vigna radiata (l.) Wilczek. and Moringa oleifera to improve food recipes of 6-23-month-old children in northern Benin

Biodiversity valorization is one way to improve food choices and contribute to a diversified diet among households. This paper aimed to valorize Vigna radiata (l.) Wilczek. and Moringa oleifera to improve food recipes of 6-23-month-old children. Two local recipes (Zankpiti and Abobo) were formulated from these plant species. The formulation was done with Minitab software, version 18 using the mixing design. The optimized recipes were tested through a hedonic test by 62 children in three (03) communes. The nutritional densities of accepted recipes were then determined. The hedonic test showed that 83.33% and 82.69% of children respectively appreciated Abobo of mung bean with moringa leaves (AMM) and Zankpiti of mung bean (ZM). Regarding the nutritional densities, energy and vitamin A densities of the recipes were largely above the recommended standards (2.03 ± 0.02 kcal/g and 1085.18 ± 14.56 RE μg/100 kcal for ZM; 1.72 ± 0.08 kcal/g and 1028.8 ± 74.1 RE μg/100 kcal for AMM. The nutritional densities of iron, calcium and zinc did not meet the recommended standards. Regarding the cover rates of the daily children's needs, both recipes had very high cover rates in vitamin A and low levels in daily calcium requirements. ZM had covered interesting daily requirements rate up to 37.64 ± 25.56%, 15.82 ± 10.75%, 24.94 ± 16.94% and 919.43 ± 624.82% respectively for energy, zinc, iron and vitamin A while AMM recipe covered high rates up to 36.36 ± 30.73% for energy and 655.38 ± 537.07% for vitamin A. These two plant species in children's feeding can also contribute to a better coverage of children's daily requirements