Both encouraging feeding style and high energy density may increase energy intakes from fermented millet gruels eaten by infants and toddlers in Ouagadougou.

Traditional fermented millet gruel is frequently eaten by children in Burkina Faso as a complementary food or for breakfast. The effects of gruel energy density and feeding style on intakes (amounts and energy) were assessed in children in Ouagadougou. Twenty-three young children (11 infants and 12 toddlers) were given two meals of gruel per day for two periods of 11 consecutive days, first, the traditional fermented gruel (TFG), and second, an improved high energy density fermented gruel (IFG).

A six-month intervention with two different types of micronutrient-fortified complementary foods had distinct short- and long-term effects on linear and ponderal growth of Vietnamese infants.

Traditional complementary foods (CF) with a low nutrient density have been implicated in growth faltering, stunting, and other adverse outcomes in children. The efficacy of 2 types of locally produced, micronutrient-fortified CF to prevent stunting of infants living in rural Vietnam was evaluated. In a village-randomized controlled study, 426 infants, 5 mo of age, received for 6 mo a fortified CF, either as an instant flour (FF) or a food complement (FC) in village canteens, or traditional CF at home (C).

Complementary foods fortified with micronutrients prevent iron deficiency and anemia in Vietnamese infants.

To investigate whether an intervention including micronutrient-fortified complementary foods can improve iron status, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in 5-mo-old Vietnamese infants (n = 246). Villages (n = 29) were randomly divided into those receiving instant flour (FF) or a food complement (FC) both fortified with micronutrients or nothing [control (C)]. FF and FC infants received daily for 6 mo at least 2 meals of fortified complementary foods.

Effect of extrusion cooking and amylase addition to gruels to increase energy density and nutrient intakes by Vietnamese infants.

Extrusion cooking and amylase addition are two processing methods used for the preparation of high energy dense (ED) gruels of suitable consistency. A quantitative study of energy and nutrient intakes of 67 infants aged 6 to 10 months in rural areas in Vietnam was carried out to compare the effects of these processes used alone or in combination. Twice a day, for a period of four days each, infants successively ate four gruels prepared from different flours based on a blend of rice, sesame and soybean: an instant flour obtained by extrusion cooking (gruel A), a ready-to-cook flour obtained by extrusion cooking plus alpha-amylase addition (gruel B), a flour produced by milling crude rice, sesame and roasted soybean plus alpha-amylase addition (gruel C) and without amylase (control gruel D).

Marketing complementary foods and supplements in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Vietnam: lessons learned from the Nutridev program.

Background: Sustainable approaches to improving infant and young child feeding are needed. The Nutridev program worked in Vietnam, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso to test different strategies to improve complementary feeding using fortified products sold to families.

Objective: To review the experiences of programs producing and marketing fortified complementary foods and to report on the feasibility of local production and marketing of fortified complementary foods to increase usage of high-quality foods among children of low-income families in a self-sustaining manner.