Adequacy of Some Locally Produced Complementary Foods Marketed in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal.

Adequate complementary foods are needed to help reduce the high prevalence of stunting in children in many Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). We assessed the availability, affordability, and nutrient adequacy of imported and locally produced processed cereal-based blends (PCBBs), marketed as complementary food for young children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal. In total, 19 local producers and 275 points of sale in the four countries were surveyed to evaluate the quantities and accessibility of PCBBs.

Effects of cooking and food matrix on estimated mineral bioavailability in Mloukhiya, a Mediterranean dish based on jute leaves and meat.

Traditional Mediterranean plant-based dishes could allow tackling malnutrition while preserving the cultural heritage. To determine the effect of the cooking method on mineral bioavailability, the content in minerals and chelators of Mloukhiya, a Mediterranean dish based on jute leaves (Corchorus olitorius) that contains also meat, was monitored during the whole cooking process. Mineral bioaccessibility was assessed by measuring in vitro dialyzability.

Determining Factors of Lipophilic Micronutrient Bioaccessibility in Several Leafy Vegetables.

Micronutrient deficiencies are still a public health issue in least developed countries. Promoting diet diversification is a promising strategy. Numerous fruits and vegetables are rich in micronutrients, but some of these compounds are poorly bioaccessible.

Contribution of leafy vegetable sauces to dietary iron, zinc, vitamin A and energy requirements in children and their mothers in Burkina Faso.

Improved leafy vegetable (LV) sauces, with amaranth, sorrel, and Ceylon spinach/spider plant leaves were formulated from traditional recipes to assess their potential use for food-to-food fortification in iron, zinc and vitamin A in the diet of young children and their mothers in Burkina Faso. Improvement was based on an increase in LV proportion and a decrease in mineral absorption inhibitors. An increase in iron content of up to 3 mg/100 g was obtained in some improved sauces in which dried fish was replaced by chicken liver, and vitamin A content was about 40 times higher than in traditional sauces.

Determination of expression and activity of genes involved in starch metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum A6 during fermentation of a cereal-based gruel.

Traditional fermented gruels prepared from cereals are widely used for complementary feeding of young children in Africa and usually have a low energy density. The amylase activity of some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) helps increase the energy content of gruels through partial hydrolysis of starch, thus enabling the incorporation of more starchy material while conserving the desired semi-liquid consistency for young children. Even if this ability is mainly related to the production of alpha-amylase (E.

Effects of water soaking and/or sodium polystyrene sulfonate addition on potassium content of foods.

In this study, we determined, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, the potassium amount leached by soaking or boiling foods identified by children suffering from chronic renal failure as "pleasure food" and that they cannot eat because of their low-potassium diet, and evaluated whether addition of sodium polystyrene sulfonate resin (i.e. Kayexalate®) during soaking or boiling modulated potassium loss.

Iron contamination during in-field milling of millet and sorghum.

Nutritionally, contaminant iron in foods may lead to overestimation of the satisfaction of iron requirement while iron deficiencies remain a widespread health problem. Iron contamination was measured in millet and sorghum grains after decortication and in-field milling using different equipments in Burkina Faso. Total iron content did not change significantly after decortication, probably due to a balance between losses resulting from the removal of iron-rich peripheral parts and contamination.

Rapid quantification of iron content in fish sauce and soy sauce: a promising tool for monitoring fortification programs.

Background: In a number of Southeast Asian countries and China, fish sauce and soy sauce produced at the industrial level are fortified with iron. Unfortunately, the food producers and regulatory agencies implementing fortification programs do not always have the capacity to monitor the programs on an ongoing basis.

Objective: To assess a new portable device for the quantitative measurement of iron content of fortified sauces that could be used to control fortification levels.

Fermentation by amylolytic lactic acid bacteria and consequences for starch digestibility of plantain, breadfruit, and sweet potato flours.

Unlabelled: The potential of tropical starchy plants such as plantain (Musa paradisiaca), breadfruit (Artocarpus communis), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) for the development of new fermented foods was investigated by exploiting the capacity of some lactic acid bacteria to hydrolyze starch. The amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) Lactobacillus plantarum A6 and Lactobacillus fermentum Ogi E1 were able to change the consistency of thick sticky gelatinized slurries of these starchy fruits and tubers into semiliquid to liquid products. Consequently, a decrease in apparent viscosity and an increase in Bostwick flow were observed.

Recipes and nutritional value of dishes prepared from green-leafy vegetables in an urban district of Antananarivo (Madagascar).

The recipes of 50 multi-ingredient dishes consumed by the population in an urban district were noted down. The nutritional value was determined as well as the cook value of the dishes in order to evaluate the severity of the thermal treatment. The recipes were simple and involved steps such as boiling, mixing, and cutting.