Effect of Community Nutrition Rehabilitation Using a Multi-Ingredient Flour on the Weight Growth of Moderately Acute Malnourished Children in Benin

Childhood malnutrition remains a public health problem in Benin. This study aimed to assess the nutritional potential of complementary food resources to accelerate the weight growth of moderately malnourished children hosted in learning and nutritional rehabilitation centers (LNRs) in eight municipalities in Benin. A multi-ingredient infant flour (i.e., FARIFORTI), composed of 35% corn flour (Zea mays), 15% malted sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), 30% soybean (Glycine max), 10% shelled and roasted peanuts (Arachis hypogeaea), 7% baobab pulp (Adansonia digitata), and 2% dried fried fish (Stolothrissa tanganyicae), was tested with 289 moderately malnourished children aged 6 to 59 months, selected in LNR sessions. Children were given the FARIFORTI flour porridge over 12 days (based on LNR protocol) in addition to other dishes based on local food resources. The weight and height of the children were measured at entry and at the end of the LNR sessions. The sensory evaluation indicated that the FARIFORTI flour was well-accepted by mothers (97%) and children (98%). The FARIFORTI porridge provided significantly higher intakes of carbohydrates and iron in children with weight gain compared to children without weight gain

Cross-approaches for advising cassava trait-preferences for boiling

AbstractCassava is one of the most common food crops grown and consumed in many parts of Africa, and boiled cassava is especially popular in West Africa. However, its quality characteristics and attributes are not well documented. This study aimed at generating data to produce useful information on cassava trait preferences for boiling. To understand end-users’ trait-preferences for raw and boiled cassava, the study used a mix of approaches including a qualitative survey, process diagnosis and consumer testing. Gender-disaggregated data on cassava varieties were clustered into three categories: “common varieties with similar rank”, “common varieties but differently ranked” and “varieties exclusively cited by women or men”. Raw cassava root for making high-quality boiled cassava should have cracked peel, a sweet taste, and white flesh. Irrespective of cassava varieties, the three descriptors: “hard to break in the hand”, “not crumbly in the mouth” and “too bitter tasting” greatly penalized the overall liking, lowering values by a range of 2.2 to 2.6 on a nine-point scale (i.e. by about a quarter). Accordingly, high-quality boiled cassava should be attractive with white, homogenous flesh, a sweet taste, easy to break in the hand, crumbly in the mouth, and fiber-free