Energy and nutrient intake increased by 47–67% when amylase was added to fortified blended foods—a study among 12‐ to 35‐month‐old Burkinabe children

Abstract

Adding amylase to fortified blended foods can improve energy density, and increase child's energy and nutrient intake. The efficacy of this strategy is unknown for the World Food Programme's Super Cereal Plus (SC+) and Super Cereal (SC) blends. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the increased energy intake from amylase‐containing SC+ and SC compared to control porridges in Burkinabe children. Secondly, energy intake from amylase‐containing porridges compared to CERELAC®, Vitazom, and eeZeeBAR™ was studied. Thirdly, caregivers' (n = 100) porridge acceptability was investigated. The design was a randomized double‐blind controlled cross‐over trial studying the effect of amylase addition to SC+ and SC flours on porridge energy and nutrient intake in healthy Burkinabe children aged 12–23 (n = 80) and 24–35 months (n = 40). Amylase added to porridges increased energy density from 0.68 to 1.16 kcal/g for SC+ and from 0.66 to 1.03 kcal/g for SC porridges. Among children aged 12–23 months, mean energy intake from all porridges with amylase (135–164 kcal/meal) was significantly higher compared to control SC+ porridges (84–98 kcal/meal; model‐based average). Among children aged 24–35 months, mean energy intakes were also significantly higher from all porridges with amylase added (245–288 kcal/meal) compared to control SC porridges (175–183 kcal/meal). Acceptability of the porridges among caregivers was rated neutral to good, both for amylase‐added and non‐amylase‐containing porridges. These findings suggest that, among 12–35‐month‐old, adding amylase to fortified blended foods significantly increased energy and consequently nutrient intake per meal by 67% for SC+ and 47% for SC. Moreover, amylase‐containing porridges were well accepted by the caregivers.

Amylase increases energy and nutrient density of Super Cereal Plus porridge as prepared and accepted by Rwandan caregivers

“…The “overall” SC+A porridge acceptability score was approximately 1 point higher amongst Rwandan caregivers of children 6–23 months (total mean 4.5–4.6) in this study as compared with the study that had been conducted in Burkina Faso (mean 3.3–3.6; Kampstra et al, ). This might be due to differences in taste or porridge thickness preferences between different regions (personal communication, C. Mouquet‐Rivier) or different tendency for scoring on the hedonic scale.…”

“…This meets the recommended energy density of at least 0.8 kcal/g of foods for young children (FAO/WHO, ; World Health Organization, ), and these findings confirm that addition of alpha‐amylase is an effective way to improve energy density of cereal based porridges (FAO/WHO, ). Porridge energy density increased from 0.68 kcal/g for SC+ to 1.16 kcal/g for SC+A when prepared by field assistants (Kampstra et al, ). In our study in Rwanda, caregivers prepared SC+A porridges with a similar energy density (1.0 kcal/g).…”

“…Energy intake, and consequently nutrient intake, from the amylase added porridges was increased by 67% amongst children aged 12–23 months old. The provided porridges were prepared by trained field assistants (Kampstra et al, ).…”

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

“…Among the local producers interviewed, only four used the extrusion cooking process, but two others said they produced instant products, although they did not apply extrusion cooking. A process to increase energy density was applied in only 14 products out of 32, although it has been shown to significantly increase energy and nutrient intakes [ 29 ]. All these statements demonstrate the importance of supporting local producers who are willing to engage in the production of PCBBs for infant and young children, and training them in the use of the most favourable methods of formulation and processing of cereal-based blends.…”

Study on Cereal-Legume Based Complementary Foods for Infants

“…Other major players operating in India include Abbott Nutrition, Nutricia, Raptakos, Amul, Pristine Organics, British Life Sciences, Mead Johnson, Babyvita and Manna Foods. Nestle branded baby foods contain on average 28% animal source protein (skim milk powder) and 9% added sugar and are well accepted (Kampstra et al, 2017).…”