Acceptability of Iron- and Zinc-Biofortified Pearl Millet (ICTP-8203)-Based Complementary Foods among Children in an Urban Slum of Mumbai, India
This article examines biofortification, a method for increasing micronutrient content of staple crops
Abstract
Biofortification, a method for increasing micronutrient content of staple crops, is a promising strategy for combating major global health problems, such as iron and zinc deficiency. The authors examined the acceptability of recipes prepared using iron- and zinc-biofortified pearl millet (FeZnPM) compared to conventional pearl millet (CPM) in preparation for an efficacy trial. Their objective was to examine the acceptability of FeZnPM compared to CPM among young children and mothers living in the urban slums of Mumbai.
Standardized traditional feeding program recipes were prepared with either FeZnPM or CPM flour. The weight of each food product was measured before and after consumption by children and the average grams consumed over a 3-day period were recorded. Mothers rated recipes using a 9-point hedonic scale. Mean intakes and hedonic scores of each food product were compared using t-tests across the two types of pearl millet. There were no statistically significant differences in consumption by children across the food products. Overall mean hedonic scores for all recipes were between 7 to 9 points. CPM products were rated higher overall compared to FeZnPM products. FeZnPM and CPM were similarly consumed and had high hedonic scores, demonstrating high acceptability in this population.
This work is an output of the HarvestPlus Programme. The Department for International Development is one of the main donors for HarvestPlus.
Citation
Huey, Samantha L., Sudha Venkatramanan, Shobha A. Udip, Julia L. Finkelstein, Padmini Ghugre, Jere D. Haas, Varsha Thakker, Aparna Thorat, Ashwini Salvi, Anura V. Kurpad, and Saurabh Mehta. 2017. “Acceptability of Iron- and Zinc-Biofortified Pearl Millet (ICTP-8203)-Based Complementary Foods among Children in an Urban Slum of Mumbai, India.” Frontiers in Nutrition 4: 39. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2017.00039.